Word: menachem
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Former Special Ambassador to the Middle East Sol Linowitz says that a hardline, get-tough attitude is not the way to move Menachem Begin [June 28]. I say it is the only way. I see him not as "the thundering prophet of the Old Testament," but as a madman determined to exterminate the poor, homeless Palestinian nation and willing to risk the security of the world doit...
With apparent shortsightedness, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was supporting Iran in order to cause trouble for Saddam, whom it has long regarded as its primary enemy in the Arab world. Thus the ancient adage "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," which guides the convoluted politics of so many nations in the Middle East, had reached its ultimate absurdity in revolutionary Iran: both the Soviet Union and a U.S. ally were contributing to the Ayatullah's war machine...
...midweek, TIME has learned, Reagan's enduring patience with the Israeli government began to crack. The President drafted a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, accusing him of obstructing U.S. efforts to reach an agreement over Beirut and warning Begin that the U.S. could even be forced to deal directly with the P.L.O. if he did not stop making it so difficult for Habib to negotiate with the Palestinians through intermediaries. When U.S. Ambassador to Israel Samuel Lewis delivered the letter to Begin in person, the Israeli leader promised to cooperate, but he remained silent at the threat...
...basics. "He gets to the core of issues quickly," says one associate, "and then doesn't leave them till they're settled." But his greatest strength, says another, is that "he knows when to use clout and when to listen." For instance, when talking to Menachem Begin, who tends to obscure issues with lengthy digressions, Habib will tenaciously steer the conversation back to the central topic. "He doesn't take opening positions too seriously but as a point of departure from which to make some progress," says William Quandt, former chief Middle East expert of the National...
Still, Israel is now in a position of strength. If the PLO can some-how be convinced to recognize Israel and abandon terrorism, Menachem Begin will have a unique opportunity to display the courage of benevolence. First, he will have to renounce the ideal of a "Great Israel" that would incorporate the occupied territories. Then, he must sit at the negotiating table with a demilitarized PLO, which, for all its disunity, still constitutes the closest thing to a legitimate leadership of the Palestinian people...