Begin Promises to Break His Silence on Lebanon Invasion

Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin promised Sunday to end his five-year silence on Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, telling a reporter to set a date with his personal secretary.

Begin, prime minister from 1977, quit in 1983 without saying why. Israelis said he was depressed by the loss of Jewish lives in the Lebanon war and by the death of his wife, Aliza. He routinely sidesteps making public political statements.

A reporter from Israel’s Armed Forces Radio, calling to wish Begin a happy 75th birthday, asked when the Israeli people could expect to hear from the former leader on the lessons of the war in Lebanon.

“Today?” Begin answered with a laugh, then added: “One of these days. Speak with Yechiel Kadishai. We’ll set up a time to talk about various subjects. Thank you very much for the call, in any case.”

In a separate telephone interview, Kadishai, Begin’s personal secretary, told the radio: “I’m convinced he’ll do it. One of these days, as he told you, he’ll do it.”

Asked if a meeting could be arranged this week, Kadishai replied: “Call me and we’ll see. The future is before us.”

About 200 of his friends and family members visited Begin at his home Saturday. They said he was in good spirits and excellent health, despite reports that he was ill and suffered memory lapses.

Begin, remembered by Israelis as a fiery speaker and charismatic symbol, now steps out of his Jerusalem house only for medical emergencies and an annual visit to his wife’s grave. He avoids interviews.

The former Israeli leader shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for signing the first peace accords between the Jewish state and an Arab country.