Begin's Surprise Maneuver

Two more political bombshells dropped on Israel last week, leaving citizens of the Jewish state as perplexed as they have ever been about the future of their tiny, troubled nation.

Bombshell No. 1--which happily turned out to be a dud--was the announcement that Menachem Begin, hawkish leader of the victorious right-wing Likud coalition in the election a fortnight ago, had been rushed to a Tel Aviv hospital complaining of chest pains. That raised doubts about whether Begin, 63, who had suffered a serious heart attack only two months ago, was well enough to head a new government. The Likud leader, however, quickly recovered from what turned out to be exhaustion and a mild bout of angina pectoris, and astonished his countrymen by dropping bombshell No. 2: he said that former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, a longtime Labor Party maverick, had "agreed in principle" to become Foreign Minister in a Likud government.

The announcement was political dynamite. In the first place, it shook up the already volatile Likud, which won 43 seats in the elections but needs the support of at least 18 members of other parties to have a fragile but workable majority in the 120-member Knesset. Begin apparently chose Dayan without consulting any of his colleagues, and many were furious. In addition, one of Likud's potential coalition partners, the new Democratic Movement for Change, temporarily broke off talks with Likud. With the possibility of a revolt on his hands, Begin called a weekend meeting of the Likud executive committee to reconsider the Dayan appointment.

Much of the controversy springs from Dayan's flamboyant personality and reputation. Although widely criticized for Israel's unpreparedness at the start of the October War, the former Defense Minister, now 62, is still favorably remembered, particularly by older Israelis, as the daring, one-eyed hero of the wars of 1956 and 1967. Outside Israel, Dayan is probably better known than any other Israeli except former Premier Golda Meir, 79. "Whenever he walks into the State Department in Washington," says one Dayan supporter, "he will command respect."

If Dayan does indeed become Foreign Minister, his presence in the Cabinet will reinforce Begin's tough position on the occupied West Bank. Since the elections, Begin has repeated that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are "liberated territories"--and talked of creating new settlements in the areas of ancient Samaria and Judea. Dayan feels pretty much the same way. Only last year, he told TIME Correspondent Marlin Levin: "We should implement Jewish settlement everywhere in the Jordan Valley without restriction, but without driving away the Arabs or imposing ourselves on them." Dayan, however, is a good deal more subtle in his approach to the problem than Begin. For instance, he is said to have persuaded Begin not to move toward annexation of the West Bank as long as peace negotiations are in prospect. After that, Dayan wants the matter put to the Israeli electorate in a referendum--a shrewd move, since he is probably right in believing that a majority of his countrymen oppose the surrender of significant portions of the occupied territories.

The reaction from the Labor Party to Dayan's defection was one of outrage. "This is political prostitution and betrayal," cried Israel Kargman, chairman of the Knesset finance committee. "He has caused us trouble for years," snapped Labor's Jerusalem leader, Uzi Baram. "Let Likud enjoy him now." Labor Party Leader Shimon Peres was reported to be "stunned"; he and Dayan were political allies for 25 years, and left Labor together in 1965; they rejoined the party three years later. Labor officials also blamed the Carter Administration for Begin's nomination of Dayan as well as the Likud victory. Said one prominent Labor member: "Just about everything Carter did helped to defeat us. I hope he's happy with the government he helped create." Bowing to the furor, Dayan quit Labor at week's end and sent back his membership card.

Man of Reality. The most optimistic judgment on the prospect of Dayan's appointment was that it represented a step toward a new creativity in Israel's foreign policy. "Dayan is a man of reality," said his biographer, Shabtai Teveth, "and he will have a moderating effect." Most political observers in Israel took the opposite view: Begin was clearly signaling to Arabs and Americans alike that Israel's new government was prepared to resist any pressure from Washington for a peace settlement on unacceptable terms. Dayan and Likud's campaign manager, Ezer Weizman,* who is expected to become Defense Minister, played principal military roles in the wars of 1956 and 1967, both of which began with Israeli surprise attacks. To some, a Begin-Dayan-Weizman team sounded ominously like a war Cabinet.

Other Likud leaders were offering hints about how a Begin government would solve the pressing domestic problems that were, in part, responsible for Labor's defeat. Party spokesmen declared that Begin would lower the number of government ministries from 21 to twelve, bring down the annual inflation rate from 39% to 15% within 18 months by slashing $500 million from the budget--mostly in nondefense areas --and encourage private enterprise.

But first, Begin had to convince his party colleagues that his appointment of Dayan was a sound decision. Failure to do so would greatly diminish his chances of forming a strong government --let alone governing effectively. As for Dayan, he defended his deal with Likud as a patriotic duty. But "if Begin has any regrets," he added, "there won't be any complaints from me, even if I fall between two stools."

*They were once related by marriage. Weizman's wife is the younger sister of Dayan's ex-wife Ruth, who was divorced from the former Defense Minister in 1971.

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