Word: menachem
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Friction between the U.S. and its Middle East ally Israel has been generating rhetorical sparks ever since President Reagan proposed his bold peace plan on Sept. 1. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's instant and fiery rejection prompted sharp criticism of the Begin government in official Washington and even among a number of American Jews. But all that was eclipsed last week as a series of shocking events in Lebanon set U.S. and Israeli policies on a potential collision course...
...vestiges of the P.L.O. and Muslim leftist military opposition in West Beirut? Had their ranks been spread too thin to keep the executioners away from their victims? Or had they simply been careless about giving the bloodthirsty militiamen a chance to run amuck? Whatever the answer, the government of Menachem Begin had a lot of explaining to do. It may eventually have a lot to regret too, for the Beirut bloodbath could very well provide powerful impetus to the Palestinian drive for a homeland...
...Menachem Begin has accused American newspapers and journalists of butting into Israel's domestic affairs. This surely deserves the chutzpah award of the week. More than any other nation, Israel over the years has butted into American affairs with great skill and (at least until lately) with great success...
...recent years, the pluralism prevalent in Israel has been seemingly ignored by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and hence hidden from the world at large. By reminding Gentiles of the Holocaust and constantly invoking solidarity among Jews, the Prime Minister has managed to guide Israel by his firm hand alone. At times, Begin's "the hell with everyone else" attitude was worthy of admiration. By bombing the Iraqui nuclear reactor, for example, Israel sacrificed popularity for safety. As former Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban has said, "Better to be unpopular than dead...
...says Albert Vorspan, vice president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, but his is not a popular view. Most American Jews are apprehensive, if not heartsick, about the anguished debate that has broken out inside their community on the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin's government. The war in Lebanon, and Begin's brusque rejection of President Reagan's peace plan for the Middle East, have shattered a tradition that was already fraying: namely, that in times of crisis American Jews should repress any qualms they might have about the policies of an Israeli...