Begin’s Blast

“You declare that you are ‘punishing’ Israel. What kind of talk is that, ‘punishing’ Israel? Are we a vassal state? A banana republic? Are we 14-year-old boys that if they don’t behave they have their knuckles smacked?

>You have no moral right to lecture us on civilian casualties. We have read the history of [World War II], and we know what happened to civilians when you carried out military operations against the enemy. We also read the history of the Viet Nam War and your term ‘body counts.’

> You cannot and will not frighten us with ‘punishments and threats.’ Threats will fall on deaf ears.

> You are trying to make Israel hostage to the memorandum of understanding. No sword of Damocles will be hanging over our heads. The people of Israel have lived for 3,700 years without a memorandum of understanding with America and will continue to live without it for another 3,700 years. ‘

> You have imposed upon us pecuniary sanctions, and in the process you have broken the word of the President. What do you want to do? Hit us in the pocket?

> Nobody will succeed in intimidating [American Jews] by anti-Semitic propaganda. They will stand by us. This is the land of their forefathers—they have the right and duty to support it.

>The word rescind is a concept from the time of the Inquisition. Our forefathers went to ‘the stake’ rather than rescind their faith. We are not going to the stake.”