FBIS Coverage of the Middle East Peace Talks: 1977 December

PPROVED FOR RELEASE CIA HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS DIVISION AR 70-14 13NOV201
V. '9 Drc 77 N 13 ISRA:EL
inally, the U.S. ambasz.aor came to me and informed me that Presid.ent as-Sada; was
!aiting for a written, official invitation. I said: We will willingly send it. It
was in his hands in 24 hours. I wrote to him: When you come you will be received with
honor a,:d cordiality. I was told that this impressed President as-Sadat. And he came
and that is how we received him. From this, gentlemen Knesset members, y:-u wil' urmder-
stand that =.verything we have done was done naturally. We were not surprised, nor
shocked, C.. the contrary, we expected this and when he came, we received hime, listened
to him, answered him, talked with him and from this stage all the other initiatives
have so far proceeded.
As I say, there can be no comparison between a shock and an apparent shock. Such a
comparison should not be drawn. It i.ssuperficial and unfounded in reality. One must '
be wary of what one says. MK Ge'ula Cohen also said--how did she put it?--that this is
perhaps something to deceive the world with. No, my dear, we are not deceiving the
world, nor Egypt, nor ourselves. There is no deception here. Everything is said
openly. This plan had been worked out, I was empowered by the ministerial committee for
..cuit... a.fa irs to bring it before the U.S. President, the government endorsed it, I
1.iorle ihe U,. President, subject to UcnfiztaL.ion by thc GU vernment of Israel [last
eight words in English]. The government did insert certain corrections, of which we
iniormed the U.S. secretary of state. No deception. Everything has been open and
frank, Why should we blame ourselves for something that should not be done when we
talk sincerely with the world and the world understands our sincerity. That is also how
the U.S. secretary of state cabled the Egyptian president before my arrival in Ismailia,
' Such things also should not be voiced when a government launches a pioneering action
with all the required sincerity and speaks to an enemy and friend with the same frankness.
However, Mrs Ge'ula Cohen is convinced that my friends around this table are mistaken.
' It is her right to think so. She even said that in her opinion Ze'ev Jabotinsky was
mistaken, She said that everyone is mistaken. Anybody can err, I agree. But, I have
j the strong impression that when Ge'ula Cohen says that everyone is mistaken, she whispers
to herself: Everyone but me. It is she who should ask herself whether maybe she is
nistaken, maybe this is a good and not a bad plan, maybe it i.s a Zionist plan and not a
danger to the Zionist enterprise, maybe it is a plan for a huge momenttun of.settlement
and not for stopping settlement, maybe this is a plan that enables us to shake off our
isolation in the world and does not deepen it, maybe it is a patriotic, real plan that
does not require supervisors over propriety but a serious debate, Maybe she is mistaken,
Ze'ev Janotinsky--the U.S. President told me 10 days ago that he is now learning the
writings of Ze'ev Jabotinsky. I was happy to hear sabout it. Yes, this is what he told
. me. He feels that he needs to learn these writings. This undoubtedly points to
historic justice, Yet, Ge.'ula Cohen was still very young--I also was very roung,, I was
only 26-4when there was that big debate in 1938. I do not think that Jabotinsky .was
mistaken then. However, there was an argument about how to liberate the people of
Israel and the land of Eretz Yisra'el. I also remember his remarks. Yet, to say -that
even he was mistaken and not to assume that I am mistaken about something is going too
far.
Let us be simple. I admit that I can err. It may be that I err in this also, What I
can clearly and unhesitatingly say, though, is what this plan has led to, We were
politically and morally isolated. All. the plans submitted were foreigners' plans.
Ne--also the previous government and governments.-usually had to deal with foreigners
and usually had to say no, we cannot accept this,