Menachem Begin by Shilon Avi

Author:Shilon, Avi.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2017-04-12T16:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

DETERIORATION

In the summer of 1979, after he had signed the peace treaty, it seemed as though Begin had reached his summit too early. It soon became clear that the “peace shock” was undermining the government’s stability. Several Likud members, including Geula Cohen and Moshe Shamir, resigned in protest over the treaty and established Hatechiya (the Revival), a secular right-wing party. Dash began to disintegrate because of internal disagreements, and Dash member Meir Amit, the minister of transport, resigned. Even Minister of Trade and Tourism Yigal Horowitz, a Likud member, resigned over his opposition to the agreement. In response, Begin made several changes in the government. Landau, who was a minister without portfolio, was appointed minister of transport, and David Levy, the immigration absorption minister, was also appointed minister of housing and construction. Yitzhak Modai, the minister of communications, was persuaded not to resign in exchange for receiving the energy portfolio. The Mafdal also went through changes; Gush Emunim, the core supporters of the party, found it difficult to cope with the withdrawal from Sinai, and Mafdal leaders Burg and Hammer, who supported the agreement, had to deal with serious complaints. Clashes among the ministers during cabinet meetings occurred more frequently, a fact that leaked to the press. Begin called these conflicts “breakdowns” and pledged to stabilize the ranks, but he soon realized that his great achievement was a difficult burden to bear.

Senior newspaper commentators predicted that Begin would be the Israeli De Gaulle and that he would sign a peace treaty with the Palestinians, but they were mistaken, as it turned out that Begin was actually planning on strengthening Israel’s presence in the administered territories. After signing the agreement, he did say that he expected to see an Arab judge sitting on the Supreme Court bench (gaining him some admiration from the Left),1 but he was not about to compromise on the issue of the Palestinian autonomy, although the right-wing camp (which had not yet recovered from the disappointment of the peace treaty) did not cease pressuring him to resign.

When politicians attacked him, Begin usually expressed his contempt for them, but his meetings with the leaders of Gush Emunim deepened his internal conflict because he believed their intentions were pure.2 He met with them often, as if out of an impulse for self-flagellation or an attempt to make amends, though he knew they considered him a traitor. His bureau chief objected to these meetings and would often ask him to stop them while they were already in progress, although he knew that Begin wanted to suffer to the sound of their claims.3

The peace agreement also deepened the divisions among the senior ministers. Dayan and Weizmann hoped to complete the process and establish a Palestinian autonomy, while Sharon pushed in the opposite direction and planned to build new settlements in order to prevent a separation between Israel and the administered territories. Begin could not control his ministers. He tended to side with Sharon but did not want to sabotage his government’s international status by establishing settlements via questionable means.

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