We owe a special debt and concern for a remnant of the Jewish people in Europe, our brethren in the Soviet Union. Their return to Judaism, their plight and fight for the return to the Land of Israel is, historically, the second greatest event of our time after the renewal of our independence. We must … Continued
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.
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.
An op-ed Begin wrote from the Jerusalem Post. He says that Israel must stand fast in demanding a full peace treaty and not withdrawal from any territory without a peace treaty. Israel is becoming isolated internationally and the PLO, despite having goals similar to the Nazis and carrying out murderous attacks on civilian targets, is gaining international recognition. The government is weak and not standing up for Israel’s rights. The Likud is in favor of a national unity government but the Alignment has sabotaged their efforts to form one by demanding that the Likud give up its principles first. He calls on mobilizing the American Jewish community and the pro-Israel community to lobby on behalf of Israel in America. There is a demographic problem, but if Jews come in large enough numbers from the Soviet Union it will cease to be an issue. Israel also must do more to save the Jews under threat in Syria. If Israel sticks up for its rights it will come through the current challenges.
A speech Begin gave in the Knesset about the plight of the Prisoners of Zion in the Soviet Union. Begin begins by describing hardened criminals who abuse the political prisoners forced to travel with them from prison to prison. Among these political prisoners are the Prisoners of Zion, who only wished to immigrate to Israel. Begin says that Israel should demand that the UN set of a commission of inquiry to investigate the conditions of political prisoners in the USSR. The Kremlin is giving voice to anti-Semitic propaganda and increasing the risk of violence and pogroms against Soviet Jews. The Speaker of the Knesset should ask the US Congress to pass a resolution to release all Prisoners of Zion and The Prime Minister should ask President Nixon to meet with top Russian officials on their behalf. Begin ends his speech by wishing for the return of all Prisoners of Zion to Israel and Jerusalem.
