Word: weizman
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...with the appointment of Dayan, who gave up his membership in the Labor Party to join the coalition. The one-eyed hero of the 1956 Sinai campaign is regarded as a tough but imaginative negotiator. There is less enthusiasm for the new Defense Minister, former Air Force Chief Ezer Weizman, 53, the hawkish nephew of Israel's first President, Chaim Weizmann. Ezer Weizman has frequently criticized the Labor Party for being too timid with the Arabs. Some Washington, and even Israeli, observers were pleased that ex-General Sharon, another outspoken hawk, had to settle for the Agriculture Ministry instead...
Likud leaders insist that the occupation under a new government will not become as anti-Arab as West Bankers fear. Ezer Weizman, who as Likud's probable choice for Defense Minister would become the new overseer, may even withdraw the army occupation force and replace it with border police. Says Weizman: "I think we should start changing our Arab and military government policies. If I discover misuse of power, humiliation on purpose, or mishandling of the civilian population, heads will be chopped...
...moderating effect." Most political observers in Israel took the opposite view: Begin was clearly signaling to Arabs and Americans alike that Israel's new government was prepared to resist any pressure from Washington for a peace settlement on unacceptable terms. Dayan and Likud's campaign manager, Ezer Weizman,* who is expected to become Defense Minister, played principal military roles in the wars of 1956 and 1967, both of which began with Israeli surprise attacks. To some, a Begin-Dayan-Weizman team sounded ominously like a war Cabinet...
...They were once related by marriage. Weizman's wife is the younger sister of Dayan's ex-wife Ruth, who was divorced from the former Defense Minister...
Israel's supporters, and perhaps also its Arab antagonists, have ample reason to hope that Weizman's judgment will prove correct. For if a Begin government is unwilling or unable to negotiate reasonably with those Arab leaders who seem ready to move toward peace, the fearful alternative is another era of turmoil?and perhaps bloodshed ?in the Middle East...