Stormy Start for a Stylish Hard-Liner

The 8th century B.C. Prophet Micah is enjoying 20th century political popularity. Jimmy Carter began his Inaugural Address with an injunction of the Hebrew sage "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Last week in Jerusalem, incoming Israeli Premier Menachem Begin, with a bow toward Carter, also quoted Micah: "For let all peoples walk each one in the name of its god, But we will walk in the name of the Lord Our God for ever and ever." As Begin interpreted these words, God "at the glimmer of the dawn of human civilization nearly 4,000 years ago" chose Israel as his people. Modern Israel, therefore, has no need to ask others for recognition of its right to exist.

Accepting office at a packed, stormy session of the Knesset, Begin appealed directly to the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Syria to join with him in trying to achieve a Middle East peace settlement. "Let us put an end to the bloodshed that is abhorrent to us, and sit down at the negotiating table in sincerity and seriousness."

The hard-lining Likud leader may have softened his tone, but he has not modified his basic positions, which are anathema to most Arabs. Addressing a Zionist convention late last week, Begin vowed that Israel will not "under any circumstances" give up all of the West Bank and Gaza or allow a Palestinian state to be established there. To do so, he said, would put "every city and home in Israel" within range of Arab guns. Begin presumably will carry this argument directly to Carter, when he visits Washington on July 19 and 20. Although the President sent Begin a warm letter of congratulations, Washington remains extremely nervous about the new government.

Liberated Land. In Jerusalem these days, it is considered good form to refer to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria" or as "liberated land" rather than "occupied territory." That stylistic change is only one of many that Israelis can expect from their Premier. Begin's public manner is courtly and polite in an old-fashioned European way. but he is also a meticulous and demanding executive. He rises at 5 a.m.. reads Hebrew, French and English newspapers and is at his desk by 8. He expects his Cabinet members to be on time for appointments and to be available at all Knesset sessions. Begin's predecessor, Yitzhak Rabin, was a nonobservant Sabra who often seemed uncomfortable wearing a yarmulke and unfamiliar with the words of daily prayers. The new Premier is a fervently religious man who frequently invokes God's name. It has suddenly become popular in government to interject a Baruch Hashem ("God be blessed") or a Toda L'el ("Thank God") into conversations.

Begin won an initial vote of confidence in the 120-seat Knesset with a tenuous majority. He can count on the support of 63 members: 43 from his own Likud bloc, 16 from Israel's two right-wing religious parties, former General Ariel Sharon and a colleague who represent the conservative Shlomzion Party, new Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and one independent. Begin had hoped to build a sturdier and broader-based coalition by getting the support of the centrist, 15-member Democratic Movement for Change. Talks between the parties bogged down on foreign policy. To the dismay of DMC Leader Yigael Yadin, Likud refused to soften its stand on the West Bank or on the issue of new Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The DMC also objected to Begin's choice of Dayan as Foreign Minister. Yadin's party temporarily broke off negotiations, and Begin left three vacancies in his 16-member Cabinet just in case the DMC leaders change their minds.

After Begin himself, the strong men in the Cabinet are three former generals, which is no great surprise for Israel (see box). One of them is making a spectacular political comeback. As Defense Minister during the October War, Moshe Dayan was widely blamed for the military's lack of preparedness. Although officially cleared of blame by an investigative commission, he has still lived under something of a cloud of reproach. Washington was reasonably content with the appointment of Dayan, who gave up his membership in the Labor Party to join the coalition. The one-eyed hero of the 1956 Sinai campaign is regarded as a tough but imaginative negotiator. There is less enthusiasm for the new Defense Minister, former Air Force Chief Ezer Weizman, 53, the hawkish nephew of Israel's first President, Chaim Weizmann. Ezer Weizman has frequently criticized the Labor Party for being too timid with the Arabs. Some Washington, and even Israeli, observers were pleased that ex-General Sharon, another outspoken hawk, had to settle for the Agriculture Ministry instead of the job he wanted: a Cabinet-level position in charge of antiterrorist activity. Dayan sits at Begin's right hand in the Knesset and is already mentioned as heir apparent to Begin, who was hospitalized with a heart attack last March. This is bound to create conflict with Weizman, who last year told friends that he would be Israel's next Premier.

Apart from the generals, Begin's Cabinet is mostly lackluster. Finance Minister Simcha Ehrlich, for instance, is not an economist but a manufacturer of optical goods. He may well have a hard time coping with Israel's rampaging inflation and convincing the country to accept a controversial Likud program to counter it with planned unemployment.

Rabbis' Support. Many Israelis are worried less about the mediocrity of the ministers than about the potential influence of the religious parties, which for the first time control the education portfolio. To gain the political support of the rabbis, Begin agreed to a list of 30 demands on religion-related issues, among them: autopsies will only be performed with a family's consent; women will only be able to get abortions for medical reasons instead of citing, as they now may, difficult "social or family conditions"; Sabbath observance will be tightened; girls opposed to military duty for religious reasons will find it easier to obtain exemptions.

One promise that disturbs Israelis --about 70% of whom are nonobservant --is Begin's agreement to amend the "law of return," which makes Jews from any country eligible for Israeli citizenship. Conversions to Judaism will be considered legal only if they are done according to Halakha, meaning strict Orthodox tenets. The proposed change has already infuriated Conservative and Reform rabbis in the U.S.; marriages and divorces authorized by them would also be scrutinized more closely.

Begin was faced with a reminder last week that his most formidable opposition--the Labor Party--may be down but is not quite out. About 1.4 million Israelis who belong to Histadrut, the giant trade union federation, went to the polls to vote for 1,501 delegates to the next convention. The Labor Party, which has dominated Histadrut since pioneering days, kept control with 56.6% of the vote. This ensures Labor's continued control of a mammoth conglomerate of unions, insurance and pension plans, companies and even banks that controls nearly 25% of Israel's economic production. It also provides the party with a strong power base. Thus Labor and Likud are on a possible collision course: Begin has vowed to strip Histadrut of its ownership of factories and corporations. As jubilant Labor members saw it, the Histadrut vote proved that Begin's victory at the polls in May was an aberration rather than a trend. They predicted that Likud would be out of power again in less than the year during which Begin asked for "moral credit," meaning a moratorium on partisan infighting.

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