Subjects: Democracy

PM Begin in an Interview with Barbara Walters and Walter Cronkite

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Begin addressed the halting of settlement construction for the duration of the Palestinian negotiations in an interview shortly after the Camp David Accords were signed, noting a difference of opinion with the US government on the matter. Begin outlined the autonomy plan’s fundamental elements and defended the morality of Judea and Samaria’s settlements, expressing a wish to end military authority in the region. Later, Begin considered the prospect of negotiating a peace treaty with Jordan and other Arab countries, saying that Egyptian-Israeli relations and the Palestinian Arabs’ solution are not interwoven.

Subsequently, Begin emphasized his desire to follow in the footsteps of Camp David and use the US government’s aid in drafting a peace pact. He proposed providing facilities for the US navy in the Mediterranean and establishing US bases in Sinai, but denied the conception of stationing US soldiers in Judea and Samaria so that Israel could defend itself independently against its surrounding enemies. However, he noted that Israel sought military assistance from the US in order to do so, acknowledging Israel’s contribution to US national security. Begin went on to discuss his Camp David experiences, his impressions of Carter as a negotiator, and the sticking points in the negotiations over the legal status of Jerusalem.

Camp David Accords

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I declared at Camp David that we should bring the issue before the Knesset and the Knesset will get this time complete freedom of vote. It means that no party discipline will be put into operation as the usual case is in any democratic parliament. And so, every member of the Knesset will vote in … Continued

The Statesman

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IS THERE such a thing as a statesman?  Or is the domain of politics just an open field where anyone can pitch his tent and declare: I am a statesman. It is, at times, strange to see the lack of understanding of this conception or rather—let us not hesitate to say so—this particular science and … Continued

PM Begin in an interview with Eric Breindel, Rolling Stone Magazine, Jerusalem

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In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Begin emphasized the need of an opposition in a democracy, and described the voting process to condemn the PLO’s invitation to the Geneva conference. Later, he discussed how the Holocaust shaped his national security view and how it affected mankind, and addressed his failure to reject the Reparations Agreement. He then responded to the claims that he was an ex-terrorist, stating that the fight for liberation and the underground’s military operations are not similar to the PLO’s acts of terrorism. Finally, he discussed the relationship between Israel and the Soviet Union over the years, as well as Herzl’s aim of ending anti-Semitism.