6 Friday, October 23, 1981
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Dayan Legacy
(Continued from Page 2)
not made to feel like the accused in a court of law
facing the prosecuting attorney. President Car-
ter. however, and even more so Mondale,
launched charge after charge against Israel.
This took place at the private meeting between
the President, the Vice President and myself. On
our arrival at the White House, Carter said he
wanted a few words with me alone before starting
the general discussion, and so Vance and his
aides, together with my aides, adjourned to the
conference room to wait for us, while Carter took
Mondale and me to his study. Carter first asked
me about a certain defense matter. My reply did
not satisfy him and he said he would take it up
with Premier Begin.
He then turned to the subject of Israeli settle-
ments in the occupied territories, speaking in lan-
guage that was sharp both in content and tone,
and making no effort to mask his anger. He said
he had himself seen and heard one of our minis-
ters say on television that we intended to settle
hundreds of thousands on territory beyond our
pre-June 1967 borders. He charged us with taking
action and making statements that were liable to
prevent the Palestinian Arabs from joining the
peace talks. I replied that there never was and
never could be a government in Israel that would
fail to establish Israeli settlements in the ter-
ritories. But the President continued with his ac-
cusations: 'You are more stubborn than the
Arabs, and you put obstacles on the path to peace
What I resented most was the part played by
Vice President Mondale, who at other times and
on other occasions had been helpful. Now, how-
ever, whenever the President showed signs of
calming down and holding an even-tempered
dialogue, Mondale jumped in with fresh com-
plaints which disrupted the talk. I was disgusted.
I just let him say his piece and make his allega-
tions, and when he wound down I remained silent.
They both stared at me. but I said nothing.
The President broke the lull by asking what I
proposed. I said that the government of Israel
would not stop settlement in the territories, but, if
he wished, I was prepared to suggest to Begin that
the six additional settlements we planned to es-
tablish in the near future would be carried out
within the framework of military camps. The
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settlers would be mobilized, or they could be con-
sidered civilians working for the army, and their
families would be permitted to live with them in
the camp. We had done that at Kiryat Arba, the
suburb of Hebron, in the first stage of its estab-
lishment. The President reflected a few moments
and then agreed. It was not what he had wished,
he said, but it was at least a second best. I re-
peated that this was my personal suggestion, and
I did not know if my government would approve it.
Though Carter spoke in a dull monotone, there
was fury in his cold bltre eyes, and his glance was
dagger-sharp. His portrayal of our position was
basically correct, but it could not have been ex-
pressed in a more hostile form.
Why did Dayan resign? It was evident that the leader-
ship accorded to Dr. Yosef Burg in preference to Dayan the
foreign minister did not go well with him. He therefore
tendered his resignation. He left Begin on good terms. The
explanation of the resignation is worth indicating. As
Dayan explains it: -
It was no secret, I wrote to the Prime Minister,
that I disagreed with the manner in which we
were conducting the autonomy negotiations, as
well as with our policy line. The same was true of
some of our actions in the territories. There was
no need for me to go into details. I had objected to
the Committee of Six which was entrusted with
the negotistions ( and I had seen no point in par-
ticipating). And regrettably I had had to vote
against some of the fundamental Cabinet deci-
sions: the expropriation of 'rocky land,' the estab-
lishment of the Elon Moreh settlement, and the
'clarifications of Israel's position on the
suggested principles for autonomy ar-
rangements.'
When the autonomy negotiations began, I con-
sidered the possibility that I might be wrong, and
that my assumption of the sterility of the negotia-
tions in their current form would prove false.
They had been going on now for four months, and
to my sorrow I felt they were largely fruitless. But
whether I was right or wrong, this was my view,
and it prevented me from taking part in them. In
such a situation, a foreign minister could not ful-
fill his function since he would be dealing with
marginal matters and not with a central issue.
It was therefore my intention to tender my re-
sidnation from the government — after discharg-
ing certain prior commitments (including official
visits to Strasbourg and Mexico) — about the
middle of December. If, of course, the Prime
Minister wished to advance this date, I would re-
sign at any time he decided. I signed the letter 'In
great friendship and deep appreciation.'
We had a final talk on this subject a week later.
It was brief, as I told Begin that I had nothing to
add to what he already knew. I could put it all in
one sentence: The things that interested me, I did
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not handle; and what I dealt with held no interest
for me. I had not entered his government in order _
to meet ambassadors and attend diplomatic
cocktail parties.-The main subject that interested
me was the pattern of co-existence with the Arabs.
I reminded him that I had once suggested res-
igning from the Foreign Ministry and serving as
his assistant in charge of this area, even without
Cabinet rank. But this matter was now being con-
ducted quite differently — with the Interior
Minister, Dr. Burg, handling a central policy is-
aue„and the Foreign Minister inactive. This was
patently absurd, on any objective rating.
I was well awnre-of the circumstances which
had led to the apointment of Dr. Burg, leader of
the National Religious Party, to head the Israeli
team in the autonomy negotiations. Neither Be-
gin's Likud nor Burg's Religious Party had been
enamored of the way in which I had conducted
talks during the peace negotiations with Egypt.
The truth was that this government did not hav<t
complete confidence in me. I was not recommend-
ing a 'palace revolt' — firing Burg and appointing
me in his place to head the autonomy talks. I sim-
ply wished to resign.
Begin expressed his regret, and said I was mak-
ing things difficult for him. But there was no hint
in his words of any readiness to change the situa-
tion. He asked me not to talk to anyone of my
intention to resign until the forthcoming Cabinet
meeting on Sunday, 21 October.
Two days after that meeting, at the end of a
night session of the Knesset, the Prime Minister
officially announced my resignation from the
government. He read out the relevant paragraph
in the law pertaining to ministerial resignations,
and added words of praise for my service in the
_government and my part in securing the peace
treaty with Egypt. When he left the rostrum, I
went up to him, shook hands warmly, and we
exchanged mutual thanks and good wishes.
Dayan was the master in many fields. He was a genius
militarily. He often exhibited similar skills in politics and
in government. He met with rejection at the polls last June
when his newly-formed political party gained only two
seats in the Knesset, only one in addition to himself. That
was after the publication of his "Breakthrough" in Israel
and considerably before its circulation in this country the
past few weeks. -
His book has special merit in judging him post-
humously. It adds to the glory of his memorable career.
In the tradition of
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