Friday, May 21, 2010

Septet Minister Begin: “Better for Israel to be harshly criticised than elegantly eulogized”

(WorldLikud).” No matter how much territory successive Israeli governments have offered, the ‘missing peace’ will never materialise because the Arabs still refuse to accept the principle of a Jewish state and the legitimacy of any Jewish connection to Jerusalem”.

This was the central theme of an address by guest speaker Dr Benny Begin MK to an audience of some 500 attendees of the Yom Yerushalayim service at Hendon United Synagogue. Dr Begin is one of the seven ministers in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s inner cabinet, commonly known as the ‘septet’.

In a style reminiscent of his father – late Prime Minister Menachem Begin – Dr Begin’s speech was peppered by references to ‘the PLO’ – with the clear implication that it had never really changed its spots. Begin said that as recently as last August Fatah reaffirmed the PLO charter saying: “Armed struggle is a strategy, not a tactic. This struggle will not stop until the Zionist entity is eliminated and Palestine is liberated.” As far as Jerusalem was concerned, PA officials still deny a Jewish temple even existed there.

In reference to the latest talks and the recent vicissitudes with the Obama administration, Dr Begin said that the security of the Jewish people was paramount. It was “better for Israel to be harshly criticised than elegantly eulogized”.