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On Tuesday Goodman appeared in a Jerusalem court. He was seemingly indifferent to the fact that he could not afford a defense lawyer. "It doesn't matter," he said. "This is a political action, rather than a legal matter." Rabbi Meir Kahane, leader of the extremist Kach movement (see box), quickly came to Goodman's rescue by agreeing to pay for his defense. Goodman shouted as he left the courtroom, "Justice for national liberation!" Little was yet known about the Baltimore-born Goodman, 37, beyond reports that he had been visiting Israel off and on since 1967 and had only recently been inducted into the Israeli army. Some sources indicated that he had been expelled from Israel in 1978 after beating up an Arab kitchen worker, but had quietly returned to the country some time last year. Despite the suspicion of Arabs that Goodman was neither deranged nor acting alone, there was no evidence last week that the shooting incident had been planned by any of the groups that in the past have been active in insisting on the Jewish right to pray on the Temple Mount, site of the ancient Temple of Solomon. The Israelis do not allow Jews to pray there, in part to protect Muslim sensibilities and in part because the chief rabbis believe that the site of the Temple's Holy of Holies might inadvertently be desecrated.
The shooting incident and its violent aftermath increased tension between the Palestinians and Israelis at a particularly explosive time. For two months, the security-conscious Israeli government has been discussing plans to launch a strike against the P.L.O. in southern Lebanon. In Israeli eyes, there have been several provocations, including the murder of an Israeli diplomat in Paris, attempts by guerrillas to penetrate the West Bank by way of the Jordan Valley, and an arms buildup by the P.L.O. in southern Lebanon.
Since the July ceasefire, according to the Israelis, the Palestinians in southern Lebanon have increased their strength in Katyusha rocket launchers by 100%, in antitank guns by 150% and in medium-range artillery by 80%. They have been supplied with Soviet-made SA9 missiles and with antiaircraft missile batteries complete with Libyan instructors. But neither the incidents of provocation nor the arms buildup can be considered sufficiently serious to convince world opinion that such an attack would be essential to Israel's security.
The man behind the assault plan is Defense Minister Sharon, who is described as the "hawk among hawks" by a top U.S. official. Sharon is determined to wipe out the P.L.O. in Lebanon, reduce its influence in the occupied territories and thereby solve Israel's most serious security problem. In 1978 the Israelis invaded Lebanon with 10,000 men and 200 tanks, but failed to dislodge the P.L.O. This time they have 36,000 men massed in northern Israel.