Begin: Partner for Peace

It is one of the ironies of the Middle East that Menachem Begin, 64, should emerge as Sadat's partner in the new quest for peace. Few would have dared predict this role for Begin last spring, when he became Israel's seventh Premier after his unexpected victory in a national election. His long-established image as an intransigent, superhawkish ultra-Zionist sent waves of concern, and even fear, throughout much of the world. The Arab press, led by Cairo, bitterly denounced him as a dangerous annexationist dreaming of a Greater Israel. Even Jimmy Carter hinted that he was concerned that Begin's election might "be a step backward toward the achievement of peace." In Israel itself, some of Begin's defeated Labor opponents warned grimly that his right-wing Likud coalition "will force us into another war."

The biggest question was whether Begin, this perennial angry voice of the opposition in the Knesset since Israel's founding, had the imaginative gifts to become a statesman once power was his. The flexibility he has demonstrated in responding to Cairo's peace initiatives so far indicates that the answer well may be yes. Begin should have no trouble taking forthright moves for he is bolstered by his enormous self-confidence. His countrymen appreciate this. According to a popular apocryphal story currently making the rounds in Israel, the Premier's wife Aliza ruins an omelet that she is preparing in the kitchen. In frustration she cries out: "Oh God!" Answers Menachem from the next room: "Never mind, Aliza. I only told you to call me that in public."

Begin probably has a firmer hold on Israel than any leader since his old antagonist, David Ben-Gurion, and it is this very strength that helped make Sadat's peace initiative possible. A close Begin aide confides: "The Premier believes that Jewish history [in Israeli stopped in 1963 when Ben-Gurion retired and only started again this year with his election to the premiership." With the backing of the 15 Deputies from Yigael Yadin's Democratic Movement for Change, who joined the government in October, Begin's ruling coalition now commands a healthy 78 votes in the 120-seat Knesset. Moreover, Begin is autocratic in running his government. He has banned smoking at Cabinet meetings, and Lord help the luckless minister who is discovered leaking a secret to the press. In domestic policy, the Premier has moved rapidly to cut through his country's well-entrenched bureaucracy and replace the semisocialism of past Labor governments with free-market reforms.

Israelis are plainly pleased with Begin's performance. His popularity in polls has jumped from 62% just before Sadat's visit to nearly 90% on the eve of this week's Ismailia summit. Like Sadat, Begin has a strong sense of the theatrical, and his distinctive style is one of his major assets. To the public, his famed Old World courtliness seems to be a refreshing contrast to the casual, open-shirt informality of the Labor governments. The Premier is rarely seen in public without a jacket and tie, usually bows to the Israeli flag (no other Premier did this) and is scrupulously polite to his staff. His predecessor, Yitzhak Rabin, was introverted, often seemed indecisive and headed a quarrelsome government tarred by corruption charges. Begin is an enthusiast, transparently honest, and a devoutly Orthodox Jew. Says a Labor-appointed official who was kept in his post by Begin: "The Premier is a very proud Jew, very conscious of history, very conscious of the Holocaust. He makes Jews all over the world, as a people, feel very proud of themselves."

But beneath Begin's disarming good manners are a quick, disciplined mind, sharp tongue and a will of tempered steel. He is so savage in the give-and-take of political debate, for instance, that his Knesset speeches became famous as bloodlettings. These dramatic personality contrasts have earned Begin the description "inverted sabra"--after the Israeli desert fruit that is prickly outside but soft and sugary within. The Premier's sweetness is on the surface; the toughness is inside.

Foreign impressions of Begin have improved substantially in recent months. A number of Egyptian officials now argue that both Begin and Sadat are men of action who like to probe and test situations. The U.S. has grown less worried about Begin in office than about a disaster that would force him to resign. Says one top American policymaker: "Losing Begin through sickness or death, God forbid, would be the very worst thing that could happen." According to Western diplomats who have dealt with Begin, he is open-minded on most issues and will sometimes change his position after listening carefully to counterarguments. There are two important exceptions that trigger deep passion: he refuses even to consider any discussions with the Palestine Liberation Organization; and he has repeatedly said he will not accept hostile troops based on the West Bank, which he refers to by its ancient biblical names, Samaria and Judea. To some U.S. officials, Begin's hawkish background now appears to be an asset. Since no one can accuse Begin of being soft on the Arabs, he can be as flexible in dealing with them as that old cold warrior, Richard Nixon, was in negotiating with Peking.

Nonetheless, some of his political adversaries wonder if Begin's years as a hard-liner ultimately will prevent him from offering enough concessions--particularly on the West Bank--to make a lasting peace possible. Retorts one supporter: "Begin is convinced that he can achieve the impossible. He is haunted by his heart problem [he has twice been hospitalized since the election with serious coronary attacks], which means that time is slipping away, and by how history will compare him with his greatest opponent--Ben-Gurion. He is trying to fight his way into Jewish history books as the leader who brought the peace Ben-Gurion never achieved." So far at least, Begin has maintained the peace momentum begun by Sadat; if he carries on, he will have assured his place not only in Jewish history but in world history.

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