70 Friday, December 12, 1980

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Likud Cabinet Battles Israeli Ctvil Service

By UZI BENZIMAN
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
The Israeli civil service has
twice recently been subject
to sharp attacks from the
Cabinet which it serves.
The charge each time has
been "disloyalty" on the
part of civil servants
towards the present gov-
ernment.
In September, when the
Cabinet was formally asked
to endorse the composition
of the Israeli delegation to
the UN General Assembly,
several of the ministers
pointedly questioned the
Foreign Ministry staff's
sense of identification with
the government's policies.
The first to voice this criti-
cism was Commerce Minis-
ter Gideon Patt who
claimed that Israel's repre-
sentatives around the world
do not support the govern-
ment's views and con-
sequently cannot defend its
policies in the course of
their political and diploma-
tic contacts.
Patt suggested a "recon-
sideration" of the personal
composition of Israel's dele-
gation to the UN Assembly.
It Comprised veteran am-
bassadors and other high-
ranking Foreign Ministry
staffers.
Foreign Minister Yit-
zhak Shamir diplomati-
cally evaded the sugges-
tion by arguing that there
j was no time for reshuffl-
ing the delegation and by
reminding the Cabinet
that the- problem Patt
was raising had been dis-
cussed a year earlier, and

no specific decisions had
been taken at that time.
Premier Menahem Begin,
however, observed that
Shamir would do well to
bear in mind Patt's remarks
and to impress upon the UN
mission members their duty
to faithfully represent gov-
ernment policy. On his re-
turn from New York,
Shamir made a point of
praising the delegation
members in his report to the
Cabinet.
A year earlier, the same
suspicions and allegations
concerning the "loyalty" of
the Foreign Ministry civil
servants and their ability to
represent the government's
policies were first voiced at
the Cabinet. In May, 197-9
the Cabinet was asked to
endorse the nominations of
some 20 diplomats to var-
ious posts in Israel Embas-
sies in Europe and the U.S.
Usually, Cabinet approval
of such Foreign Ministry
nominations is a formality.
But on this occasion Begin
asked the Cabinet to with-
hold its confirmation. Begin
argued that he is entitled to
study the curriculum-vitae
of the diplomats before
sending them - to their new
posts.
Staffers at the Foreign
Ministry reacted angrily
that Begin was exercising
unwarranted political in-
terference in the civil serv-
ice.
A week later the issue
was discussed again at
the Cabinet's weekly ses-
sion and all the dip-
lomats were approved.

But the Prime Ministei=
took the opportunity to
express his views on the
qualifications of the
Foreign Ministry staff.
He alleged that many of
them are not purely profes-
sional diplomats but politi-
cal nominees of past Labor
Party administrations. He
accused the Foreign Minis-
try diplomats in various Is-
raeli embassies of disloyalty
to the present government.
Begin's accusation ayear
ago and Patt's remarks re-
cently impelled the Foreign
Ministry employees union
to protest by issuing tough
statements against the at-
tempts "to destroy their
image and to smear them
with accusations regarding
Israel's failures in the in-
ternational arena." In one
case, the Foreign Ministry
staff threatened to strike
should the attacks continue.
The criticism voiced on
the Cabinet level against
the civil service has not
been limited to the Foreign
Ministry. Cabinet Minis-
ters had claimed time and
again that the Finance
Ministry senior staff do not
support the government's
economic policy and accused
them of deliberately plant-
ing obstacles in the gov-
ernment's path. Commerce
Minister Patt launched
tough verbal attack on his
own subordinates, claiming
that they are not entitled to
differ from his policy. Patt's
ire was raised because a
memorandum composed by
one of his officials, disagree-
ing with the Minister's deci-

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sion on the value added tax
By YITZHAK RABI
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
pol-icy, was leaked to the
press.
The Israeli artist Moshe
Michaan and I met for the
Under the British Par-
first time a few years ago
liamentary system that
when the painter was in
exists in Israel, a change in
government does not mean New York for a rather un-
personnel changes in the usual exhibition of his work
at the famed Museum of
civil service.
During the 30 years of _ Modern Art. "It is a concep-
Labor's administration, tual exhibition," the
many of the important curly,-haired artist ex-
posts in the public ad- plained then, admitting
ministration were man- that in reality-no exhibition
ned by supporters of the of his work is likely to open
leading political party. in the near future at the
Labor and its coalition Museum of Modern Art.
partners obeyed the for- What Moshe did was simple
mal rules, obliging them yet ingenious. He sent a let-
to open the senior jobs to ter to the museum's board of
free competition. But in
practice they managed to Arabs Gaining
man these posts, by and Stature Among
large with their own
Israeli Youth
people.
JERUSALEM — Young
This tendency gradually
declined during the last Israelis have- come around
years of Labor rule, and in to viewing Arabs more pos-
some of the ministries a itively — and themselves as
truly "British" civil service less superman-like, a He-
has'in fact been established. brew University of
Likud came to power in Jerusalem study shows.
Four times during the
1977. It was the first time
that the governmental ad- last 15 years, Dr. Kalman
ministration was siabordi- Benyamini, who teaches
nated to a new major politi- psychology at the univer-
cal party. Begin and his sity and is engaged in
ministerial colleagues de- educational-psychological
Glared that they would fol- research, has made a survey
low the British tradition by of the image Israeli
keeping the senior civil ser- youngsters hold of Arabs,
vants at their posts never- and of their own national-
theless. During its three ity.
Among the findings are
years in office, the Likud
has done its best to man that the image of the Arabs
senior and sensitive posi- changed drastically twice —
tions with its ideological for the worse , after the Six-
Day War in 1967 and for the
supportus.
At the same time, better following the Yom
Cabinet ministers and other Kippur War in 1973.
The 1973 war rehabili-
coalition politicians have--
tated the national pride of
resorted to attacks on the
Arabs no,t, only in their own
civil service in those minis-
eyes, but also in the eyes of
tries where the new gov-
.
ernment failed to replace the Israelis, according to Dr.
Benyamini. He found that
the manpower with its own
the totally different images
followers. Thus, Likud has
held by the - Israeli
failed to live up to its own
youngsters — a negative
high-minded promises to
one regarding the Arab and
emulate the grand British
an idealized one of the Is-
tradition of an apolitical
raeli — were vastly sobered
civil service and has emu-
by the Yom Kippur War.
lated, instead, the less lofty
- Dr. Benyamini conducted
practices of its Labor pre-
his surveys in 1965, 1968,
decessors.
1974 and 1979; the last one

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THE JEWISH NEWS

Israeli Artist in NY

NORMAN PODHORETZ .
NEW YORK — New
York Daily News columnist
Claudia Cohen is speculat-
ing that the Reagan Ad-
ministration will appoint
Norman Podhoretz of
Commentary magazine to
head the International
Communications Agency,
which oversees the Voice of
America.

followed the signing of the
peace treaty with Egypt.

AJC Involved
in Three Cases

CHICAGO — The Ameri-
can Jewish Congress has
filed friend-of-the-court
briefs in three religious ac-
commodation cases now
.pending in the U.S. courts.
Two cases — Anderson v.
General Dynamics and Not-
telson v. A. 0. Smith Corpo-
ration — involve Seventh
Day Adventists who refused
to pay union dues based on
their religious beliefs.
The third case — Kendall
v. United Airlines — in-
volves a pilot who is a
member of the World Wide
Church of God. Members of
that church observe a Sab-
bath that extends from sun-
down Friday to sundown
Saturday.
The AJCongress has
entered each case on behalf
of the individuals, defend-
ing their right to Sabbath
observance.

directors informing them
that he would exhibit his
work at their institution in
the next several weeks.
What a clever PR man, I
thought then to myself. La-
ter, when I saw his work, I
thought: What a talented
artist and what beautiful
paintings.
Now Michaan is in New
York again, after spending
ayear in Paris painting and
studying art on a schol-
arship he received from the
Israeli Ministry of Educa-
tion and Culture.
Only- a few months in
ot
New York, the 44-ye
r-
old Haifa-born artis
a one-man show aC , .
Soufer Gallery in Man-
hattan and in the next
few months he is
scheduled to exhibit his
work in Detroit, Los
Angeles, Chicago and At-
lanta.
He paints with oil on can-
vas and draws with pastel
and charcoal on paper. His
figurative paintings consist
mainly of delicately nude
women. But he also has
paintings of landscapes and
other scenes.

o

I was impressed by the
vividness and the free,
somewhat mischievous
quality of his paintings, by
his bright colors and hues
(which _are very Israeli for
that matter) and by the
sparse, minimalistic lines of
his drawings. With few
lines he succeeds to convey a
whole presence and atmos-
phere.

`Israel Support
Will Continue
Under Reagan'

NEW YORK (JTA) —
Forme,r Foreign Minister
Moshe Dayan of Israel, in
his recent tour in the United
States on behalf of the
United Jewish Appeal; told
his audiences that he is con-
fident the Reagan Adminis-
tration would support Israel
within the context, of
American interests.
Meanwhile, Sol Linowitz,
President Carter's special
envoy to the Middle East,
told the American Jewish
Congress that President-
elect Reagan and Carter
were "both committed to
United States participation
in the Middle East peace
process."
In a related development,
U.S. Air Force Undersecre-
tary Antonia Handler
Chayes declared that the
construction by the United
States of Israel Air Force
bases in the Negev tc -- `7
place the bases Israel
up in the Sinai as part of the
Camp David accords is a
"tangible sign of the per-
manence of the U.S. com-
mitment to Israel's secu-
rity."
Chayes spoke to some 700
person at the annual
American Mizrachi Women
Scholarship Fund Dinner at
the Waldorf Astoria at •
which she received the
AMW's Distinguished Pub-
lic Service Award "for her
work in relocating the air
bases."

