THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 10, 1982 13
Begin Responds to Reagan's Latest Middle East Peace Initiative
(Continued from Page 1)
claimed a unilateral cease-
fire, rejected by the ter-
rorists.
So the fighting contin-
ued; and on June 27, we
suggested that all the ter-
rorists leave Beirut and
Lebanon — which they
eventually did, with the
help of the important good
offices of Ambassador
Habib, many weeks later.
In the intervening
battles, Israel lost 340 men
killed and 2,200 wounded,
100 of them severely.
Also in the battles —
following the rejection of
our appeals by the Syrian
army not to interfere —
we destroyed 405
Soviet-Syrian tanks
(amongst them nine
T-72s, considered in
NATO circles to be "in-
vulnerable"); we downed
102 Soviet-Syrian MiGs
(including one MiG-25),
and smashed 21 batteries
of SAM-6, SAM-8 and
SAM-9 — a deadly
weapon.
Yet in your letter to me
and in your speech to the
American people you did
not, Mr. President, even
mention the bravery of the
Israeli fighter nor the great
sacrifices of the Israeli army
and people. The impression
one could have gotten was
that Mr. Philip Habib, with
the help of the expedition-
ary units, achieved the re-
sult.
It is my duty to tell you,
Mr. President, that I was
struck by the omission. I
state a fact; I do not com-
plain.
What I do protest is the
omission to consult with us
prior to forwarding your
proposals to Jordan and
Saudi Arabia, the former an
outspoken opponent of the
Camp David accords, the
latter a complete stranger
to and an adversary of these
accords.
As there was no prior
consultation, the United
States government could
have taken the position
that the "West Bank"
should be reassociated
with Jordan. What some
call the "West Bank," Mr.
President, is Judea and
Samaria; and this simple
historic truth will never
change.
There are cynics who de-
ride history. They may con-
tinue their derision as they
wish, but I will stand by the
truth. And the truth is that
millenia ago there was a
Jewish kingdom of Judea
and Samaria where our
kings knelt to God, where
our prophets brought forth
the vision of eternal peace,
where we developed a
rather rich civilization
which we took with us, in
our hearts and in our minds,
on our long global trek for
over 18 centuries; and, with
it, we come back home.
By aggressive war, by in-
vasion, King Abdullah con-
quered parts of Judea and
Samaria in 1948; and in a
war of most legitimate
self-defense in 1967, after
being attacked by King
Hussein, we liberated, with
God's help, that portion of
our homeland.
Judea and Samaria will
never again be the "West
Bank" of the Hashemite
kingdom of Jordan which
was created by British col-
onialism after the French
army expelled King Feisal
from Damascus.
At Camp David we
suggested — yes, it was
our ' initiative — full
autonomy for the Arab,
or Palestinian inhabi-
tants, of Judea, Samaria,
and the Gaza district,
with a transitional period
of five years. It is a gener-
ous suggestion offering
the widest scope of au-
tonomy existing on earth
in our time, as I have had
occasion to prove to
prominent guests whom I
have received in
Jerusalem from France,
Italy and Belgium, who
know something of au-
tonomy.
The matter of security is
of paramount importance.
seashore; and now, Mr.
Geography and history President, you suggest to us
have ordained that Judea in your proposals, that we
and Samaria be mountain-
return to almost that same
ous country and that two-
situation.
thirds of our population
True, you declare that
dwell in the coastal plain you will not support the cre-
dominated by those moun- ation of a Palestinian state
tains. From them you can in Judea, Samaria and the
hit every city, every town,
Gaza district. But such a
each township and village state will arise of itself the
and, last but not least, our day Judea and Samaria are
principal airport in the given to Jordanian jurisdic-
plain below.
tion. Then, in no time, we
We used to live penned in
and you will have a Soviet
eight miles from the base in the heart of the Mid-
dle East.
Under no circum-
stances shall we accept
such a possibility ever
arising which would
endanger our very exist-
ence.
Mr. President, you and I
chose for the last two years
to call our countries "friends
and allies." Such being the
case, a friend does not
weaken his friend,' an ally
does not put his ally in
jeopardy. This would be the
inevitable consequence .. .
Plan to attend the annual
Bar-Ilan University
Dinner
Honoring Dr. Leon Fill
Join in supporting this great Israeli
educational institution, unique in the
Jewish world because it provides
academic and professional excellence
side-by-side with the eternal
precepts of Judaism.
Speaker
Professor Emanuel Rackman,
President of Bar-Ilan University
Dr. Martin Hart
General Chairman
Norman A. Pappas
General Chairman
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 1982
Place: Congregation Shaarey Zedek
6:00 pm Cocktails — 7:00 pm Dinner
Subscription: $100 per person
Honorary Chairmen
Max M. Fisher
Philip Slomovitz
Paul Zuckerman
Scholarship Chairman
Education Chairman
Arrangements Chairman-
President, American Women for Bar-Ilan
Chairman, Faculty of Jewish Studies
Chairman, Business Administration
Development Chairman, Faculty of Law
Endowment Chairman
Chairman, Department of Life Sciences
Windsor Area Chairman
Allan J. Pearlman
Salek Lessman
Paul Zlotoff
Max Nosanchuk
Richard F. Roth
David Hermelin
Salek Lessman
Global Board of Trustees
Frieda & Max Stollman
Dr. Harris Mainster
Sharon Hart
Joseph H. Jackier
Jacob Rosenthal
American Board of Overseers
Joseph H. Jackier
Robert H. Naftaly
Emery I. Klein
Irving Nusbaum
Global Board of Trustees-
Vice President, American Board of Overseers
Chairman, Global Board of Trustees
Dr. Leon Fill
Phillip Stollman
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