Prime Minister’s Statement on His Visit to the U.S. Introduction Prior to the elections of 1977 Mr. Begin had been depicted in much of the world media-including that of the U.S.-as a doctrinaire former terrorist, a “warmonger.” Thus, his first visit to the U.S. in his capacity as prime minister took on a special importance. … Continued
A reprinting of a chapter from Begin’s book, THE REVOLT, which appeared in the New York Post as part of a series of reprints. This chapter was appended to cover new information revealed over the decades. His description of his experiences as a prisoner of the Soviets, widely denounced by Communists as propaganda, has been acknowledged as truth. Soviet Jews have renounced Communism for Zionism in large numbers. Begin had accused the British of not wanting the Jews of Europe to be saved in the 1949s, and recently revealed documents show how the British prevented the Red Cross from saving 40,000 Jews from Hungary because they might have gone to Palestine. And after Begin always maintained that Israel’s rightful borders included all of Biblical Israel and that any other borders were artificial, in 1967 Israel finally regained Judea and Samaria, erasing the artificial line.
A reprinting of a chapter from Begin’s book, THE REVOLT, which appeared as part of a series of reprints of Begin’s book in the New York Post. Begin describes the events surrounding the battle of Dir Yassin, which was called a massacre in the international media and by the Labor Zionists. Dir Yassin was a strategically important village from which attacks against aid convoys to Jerusalem were launched. The Etzel and the Lehi launched a joint operation to capture the village and provide relief to Jewish forces in Jerusalem. The Etzel warned the civilians to leave before the fighting, giving up the element of surprise. The fighting in Dir Yassin was intense, leading to many casualties on both sides. Arab forces hoping to gain a propaganda victory spread rumors about a wanton massacre at Dir Yassin, and Labor elements, hoping to discredit the Etzel as political opponents, also helped spread the rumor. The unintended result was the fleeing or surrendering of Arabs throughout the country, making the overall war effort much easier for Jewish forces.
A reprinting of a chapter from Begin’s book, THE REVOLT, which appeared as part of a series of reprints of Begin’s book in the New York Post. Begin describes how the King David Hotel was the fortified center of British power in Mandatory Palestine and how striking it would prove to them that it was indeed possible to fight against the powerful British Empire. The Haganah approved the attack on the hotel. The Etzel did not want to cause any cause any casualties in the attack, especially civilian casualties. To that end they set off a warning fire cracker and called several locations, including the hotel, giving warnings about the bombs and instructions to evacuate. Though plenty of time to evacuate was given, the British forces refused to evacuate and many people, including civilians, were killed. Begin and the Irgun were distraught at the needless death and struggled to understand why the British refused to save their own lives or the lives of the civilians by evacuating.
Begin stresses the importance of maintaining the post 1967 borders and not returning the territories of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. He recalls the Yom Kippur War, in which Egypt utilized the element of surprise to attack Israel to cause more damage and more lives to be lost. In order to prevent this from happening again, Begin emphasizes the legal right the Jewish people have to this land.
