Subjects: Sinai Campaign

Likud Leader

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An interview Begin gave to the American newspaper “The Stars and Stripes”. After doing well in the 1974 election but not winning the press reports that Begin’s influence over Israeli policy has grown. Begin says that the wars of 1948 and 1967 were wars of self-defense and that Judea and Samaria are integral parts of Israel that cannot be given up. He supports Israel’s participation in the Geneva Peace Conference. He would be willing to give back Egyptian and Syrian land Israel captured in the Yom Kippur . Many regular Israelis agree with him on the issue of territory. He also says that it would be a security risk, and the interviewer gives facts about Jordan and Egypt’s military capabilities that support Begin’s assertions. Kissinger acknowledges the security risks and says the answer is international guarantees. Begin cites the cases of the Sudetenland and the Sinai Campaign to show why international guarantees are worthless.

The Magnificent Emergency

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Article by Begin for Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day) 1968, recounting the events that had transpired since the previous Independence Day. On Yom Haatzmaut 1967, even as Jews were both mourning the Holocaust and celebrating the resurgence of their people Israel, Colonel Nasser of Egypt ordered his troops to go into the Northern Sinai Peninsula. Soon the combined forces of three large Arab armies from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan surrounded Israel. Israel still won and took the Suez Canal, but Nasser was still spouting the same rhetoric a year after the war. Other Arab leaders made similar declarations about their intent to destroy Israel, in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. Israel is in a state of “magnificent emergency” where it is under threat but has great opportunities to settle and claim its land. To this end Israel needs another mass aliyah from western Jewry and to initiate economic reforms to ensure a free market and economic growth that westerners expect.

Menachem Begin’s Stirring Message of Hope and Faith

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The conclusion of Begin’s speech regarding Israel’s right to retain territories liberated in the Six-Day War. Here, he focuses on maintaining a Jewish majority in Israel through encouraging aliyah and a strong national unity government in order to persevere. Part 3 of 3.

Let Us Not Lose This Great Hour!

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On the occasion of Rosh Hashanah 1967, MK Begin wrote an article describing the momentousness of the Israeli victory in the Six-Day War. In it, he calls on the Israeli government to adopt territorial changes, arguing that Judea, Samaria and Gaza were seized in 1967 as part of a defensive war and, therefore, need not be returned. He ends with a call to speed up the ingathering of the exiles to Israel.

Begin Tells How He Broached Idea with P.M.

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Begin is interviewed for the newspaper “Yediot Ahronot” and addresses the possibility of a Government of National Unity. Begin explains that the idea of national unity came out of disagreement between Gahal and Mapai regarding the concentration of Egyptian forces. Begin then explains the process of him speaking with Shimon Peres and eventually going to David Ben-Gurion’s home to share his proposal. Although his proposal was not accepted, Begin emphasizes Ben-Gurion’s “praiseworthy behaviour.” Even so, Begin shares that Gahal, Rafi, and the National Religious party have continued conversations about a future Government of National Unity.