New Signs of Flexibility

In Israel and the U.S., Jewish opinion is shifting

"In the early days, we Jews were in search of our national identity. Now the Palestinians are going through the same search for their national identity. The only foreseeable solution is a territorial compromise." So says Elkana Galli, a former adviser to Israel's first Premier, David Ben- Gurion.

While the hard-lining ultranationalists of Gush Emunim have attracted worldwide attention with their zealous demands for unlimited Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, theirs is far from the prevailing Israeli opinion. Alongside the mass demonstrations of Peace Now, a dovish popular movement, prominent politicians and scholars are starting to demand that the Begin government take a more flexible attitude toward the Palestinians.

That idea was given a forceful public statement last month by Professor Yacob Talmon, a leading historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a staunch Zionist. In a letter to the Tel Aviv daily Ha'aretz, Talmon acidly denounced Begin's autonomy idea as "an archaic concept, a trick to shut the Gentile's mouth." Talmon argued that similarly limited autonomy plans had never worked in the past and charged that the government's territorial and settlement policy not only contributed to the corruption of the Israeli people but also violated "the vital Zionist aimpeace with our neighbors." Branding Begin "an obstacle in his nation's way," Talmon called for the Premier's immediate resignation.

Talmon's harsh judgment is apparently shared by many of his countrymen. According to a public opinion poll published last week by the Jerusalem Post, Begin's right-wing Likud coalition would be easily ousted from power by the opposition Labor Party if the elections were held today. (They are not scheduled until October 1981.) Reaching similar conclusions, Pollster Mina Zemach attributed Begin's dramatic drop in popularity largely to domestic issues, but the settlement policy was clearly a factor: 50% of those polled were opposed to allowing Jews to settle in the Arab city of Hebron (vs. 35% for and 15% indifferent). Zemach's poll showed that only 11% of Israelis favored annexation of the West Bank, while 70% favored some form of compromise and concession on the occupied territories.

Begin's hard-line policies have also created a painful dilemma for American Jews. Though they have traditionally supported whoever held power in Israel, they now find it increasingly difficult to justify the present government's actions. Reflecting this ambivalence, a senior staffer in the Washington office of a national Jewish organization told TIME: "There's a silent majority that opposes the settlements. They think Begin is hurting Israel's image. He looks too much like a tough guy, especially pushing on Hebron. But American Jews will not tell Israel how to ensure its security. Nothing is going to happen to us if the P.L.O. takes over. Our children aren't going to be shot."

The settlement policy is clearly the most troubling issue for Jewish Americans. Though there is a general consensus that Jews should have the legal right to settle in any part of the West Bank and Gaza, the timing and seemingly punitive nature of the Cabinet's latest moves have aroused sharp criticism. Fumes Irwin Goldenberg, president of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation-Council: "I think it's ridiculous what Begin's doing." Theodore Mann, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, offers a slightly more reserved assessment: "A good many American Jews are offended by the settlement policy when, as in the cases of Hebron and Nablus, the settlements are not linked to Israel's security." One of the many U.S. Jewish leaders to express their objections directly to Begin, Mann comments that the Premier "listens to what we've got to say. I'm not saying, however, that he's moved by what we tell him."

To a great extent, American Jewish criticisms of Begin have been blunted by dismay over the Carter Administration's fumbling Middle East policies, especially the controversial snafu over the United Nations vote. "Carter reacted outrageously," charges Mann. "He practically gave the West Bank to the Palestinians." Explains U.C.L.A. Political Scientist Steven Spiegel: "Carter has deflected some of the criticism from Begin. The Administration has been particularly adept at taking actions that directly challenge Israel." As Carter's hasty retreat on the U.N. vote shows, Washington policymakers are acutely sensitive to such discontent in this election year, when Jewish votes and campaign contributions could make the difference in key states.

Despite their reservations about the settlement policy, Jewish Americans seem reluctant to criticize Begin's overall approach to Palestinian autonomy. Limited as it may be, Begin's plan is widely seen as a necessary first step toward peaceful coexistence. Many U.S. Jews now feel that some agreement must be reached with the Palestinians, provided Israel's right to exist is recognized. But apart from anti-Zionist mavericks like Alfred Lilienthal, editor of Middle East Perspective, few Jewish Americans are ready to accept the idea of an independent Palestinian state, at least in the foreseeable future.

Rabbi Alexander Schindler, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, is something of a rarity: a Jewish American who openly professes compassion for the Palestinian people and recognizes the need for coexistence and mutual trust. "I feel almost a kinship with the Palestinians," says Rabbi Schindler. "The role they are playing in the Arab world is not unlike the role of the Jews in the world: rootless wanderers."

Ultimately, the question of Israel's long-term security remains uppermost in the mind of American Jewry, and for that reason Begin faces no pressure from his U.S. supporters to deal with the P.L.O. As long as the Begin government appears faithful to that criterion, its mistakes and shortcomings will probably be excused. But there could well be further erosion of American Jewish support if that government continues to pursue policies judged detrimental to the peace process and to Israel's international credibility.

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