(3 of 3)
At Northwestern, Begin ran into one of the few hostile demonstrations of the trip. Some 700 Palestinian sympathizers, composed of Arab, Iranian and Indian as well as American students, carried placards proclaiming ISRAELI BONDS BUY BOMBS. Earlier the student body had voted 1,199 to 907 against giving the degree to Begin because, by bestowing it, the university seemed to be taking sides in the Middle East dispute.
Begin's last stop was a four-day visit to New York. An overflow crowd greeted him at an Israeli Bonds luncheon, where individual pledges of $25,000 to $50,000 were made and a total contribution of $20 million was promised. At Yeshiva University he received another honorary degree. Jack Weiler, an Israeli Bonds national treasurer, told Begin: "Israel needs p.r. desperately, and you're doing beautifully."
Begin ran into a frostier reception, however, at a dinner for 1,800 given by the business-oriented Economic Club of New York. He faced a barrage of questions. Why were the illegal settlements on the West Bank so important that they were blocking all progress toward peace? Why must Israel's security be equated with more territory? Given Israel's commitment to democracy and liberty, how can it refuse these same rights to the Palestinian Arabs? Former Under Secretary of State George Ball denounced Israeli opposition to the Middle East plane sale and concluded, "So I will testify tomorrow before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." Begin shot back, "You have already testified here tonight."
Despite Begin's public intransigence, there seemed to be some slight give in his position in private. In a recent meeting with Vance in Washington, Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan expressed a willingness to "reinterpret" Begin's earlier proposal for Palestinian self-rule under Israeli auspices on the West Bank.
That arrangement could be considered a "transitional plan," Dayan indicated, and at the end of five years the basic question of sovereignty could be open for negotiation. Following his successful tour of the U.S., Begin may feel he is in a better position to bend a little on negotiations, even enough to get them started again.