Friday, February 22, 1980 21
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Yitzhak Shamir: Menahem Begin's Rival Has Become a Protege
By UZI BENZIMAN
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Knesset Speaker Yitzhak
Shamir will soon become Is-
rael's new foreign minister.
The Liberal Party Wing of
Likud, by failing to put up a
credible candidate of its
own, has in effect removed
its opposition to the ap-
pointment of Shamir, a
Herut hawk.
By nominating Shamir as
successor to-Moshe Dayan,
Premier Menahem Begin, a
man who delights in sym-
bolic significance, em-
phasizes the irony of history
which has made him, the
former Irgun leader, Israel's
premier and his historic un-
derground rival, Shamir,
once the Lehi (Stern Group)
commander, the new
foreign minister.
Begin and Shamir are of
the same origin and milieu.
Both were born in Poland;
both are in their mid-sixties
(Begin is 67, Shamir 65);
both are products of Betar,
the Zionist Revisionist
youth movement.
Their ways parted
when they immigrated to
Palestine. Shamir, who
arrived in 1935, joined the
Lehi underground
movement which later
broke away from Irgun.
Begin, who came in 1942,
became the commander
of the Irgun.
Thereafter, during the
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long struggle against the
British Mandatory regime,
Begin and Shamir were ri-
vals. They differed in their
tactical moves, their
ideological motives and
their operational actions
though they were united in
their goal: the termination
of British rule in-Palestine.
Lehi and the Irgun repre-
sented different types of re-
sistance movements. While
Lehi comprised several
dozen zealous fighters, who
considered themselves mes-
sianic revolutionaries, they
regarded Irgun as a semi-
military organization
headed by an authoritative
commander.
They saw the Irgun as a
spartan order governed by
an absolute commander.
Even in jail, prisoners of
both movements main-
tained their mutual rivalry.
After the establishment
of the state, Begin and
Shamir turned to differ-
ent ways of life. The
former Irgun comman-
der became the leader of
the Herut Party while
Shamir turned to busi-
ness. In 1955, Shamir
joined the Mossad (the Is-
raeli intelligence agency)
and made an impressive
record during his 10
years of service.
Only in 1970 did the two
men become political allies.
The former Lehi leader
joined Herut. With Begin's
blessing in 1975, Shamir
was elected Herut's execu-
tive chairman. For Begin,
the inclusion of Shamir into
the Herut leadership sym-
bolized the reconciliation of
the two former under-
ground organizations and
the unification of the "na-
tional front."
Begin, indeed, discussed
the possibility of bringing
Shamir into the Cabinet he
formed after the 1977 elec-
tions. But due to coalition
difficulties, he had to drop
this intention, and Shamir
took the position of Knesset
speaker.
From this vantage point
Shamir observed Begin's
role in the peace negotia-
tions. As speaker, Shamir
chaired the historic sessions
at which President Anwar
Sadat, in November 1977,
and President Carter, in
March 1979, addressed the
Knesset. Shamir also con-
ducted the sessions at which
the Camp David agreement
and the Egyptian-Israeli
peace treaty were approved.
Throughout the peace
process Shamir has had
doubts about Begin's
views. He expressed fear
that the autonomy plan
Now Third-Rate?
TEL AVIV (ZINS) —
Former Israeli Foreign
Minister Yigal Allon claims
a Western diplomat was
told by President Anwar
Sadat of Egypt that "Israel
is now, at best, a second- or
third-rate military factor"
in the Middle East.
Sadat reportedly is using
this assessment as part of
the basis for his request for
massive American arma-
ments for Egypt.
bears the seeds of a
Palestinian state. When
the Knesset endorsed the
Camp David agreements
and the peace treaty,
Shamir abstained.
Reportedly, he considered
voting against Camp David
but he decided to obstain, he
told friends, because the
pact had become an unchal-
lengeable political reality.
He expressed his firm belief
however, that Begin would
not countenance any
further compromise in the
Israeli position.
Recently, Shamir has in -
sisted that he was never
"against the peace," but
only had doubts about its
terms.
Shamir's confidence in
Begin is indeed one of the
most characteristic compo-
nents of their relationship
as politicians. Shamir feels
that he owes Begin his polit-
ical career which started
late, when he was 55. Some
political pundits describe
the .relation between these
two men as that of a patron
and his protege, although
there is only two years dif-
ference in their ages. Dur-
ing his service in Herut,
Shamir never challenged
Begin's views.
He is not expected to
differ from the premier
when he becomes foreign
minister, despite his
doubts about the condi-
tions of the peace treaty.
Shamir is a worldly and
bornly strives to implement
his decisions once they are
taken.
Shamir is almost un-
known to the international
experienced man endowed
with several talents. He is a
balanced and practical per-
son, whose honesty and in-
tegrity have never been in
doubt and whose
authoritative personality
and analytical way of think-
ing was always praised by
his subordinates.
Shamir admires the re-
straint and the patience of
Far Eastern people. His ac-
quaintances describe him as
a man who takes infinite
pains before arriving at a
decision and who stub-
community. As Israel's
foreign minister he will
have to adapt himself to the
exposed television diplo-
macy of the 1980s.
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