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Most such reservations, especially those expressed in public by the leaders of Jewish organizations, are still quite mild. Thus Hyman Bookbinder, head of the Washington office of the American Jewish Committee, cautiously summarizes one current of opinion among many Jews: "They wish Israel had waited [before rejecting Reagan's peace plan]. They feel Israel should be more reflective, should explore the positives in the proposal. The rejection was too categorical." He quickly adds that "there is understanding too" of the Israeli Prime Minister's quick-trigger reaction: "Ronald Reagan has challenged Menachem Begin's dearest idea, Israel's historic claim to the West Bank."
Some powerful emotional forces will be working to keep the criticism muted. Divided though they are about some policies of the Begin government, American Jews wholeheartedly approve others. In a poll conducted last winter and spring for the American Jewish Committee, respondents split down the middle on the question of whether Israel should return the West Bank and Gaza to some form of Arab control: 41% said yes, 41% replied no and 18% were undecided. But 74% judged Israel's policies in general toward the Arabs to be "about right." The same overwhelming proportion opposed any negotiation with the P.L.O. Moreover, any dissatisfaction that Jews might feel with the Begin government has not diminished the intensity of their attachment to the state of Israel or their fears about Israel's security. No less than 94% of the Jews questioned in the A.J.C. poll described themselves as pro-Israel, and 83% agreed to the proposition, "If Israel were destroyed, I would feel as if I had suffered one of the greatest personal tragedies in my life."
Begin still has his ardent supporters in the American Jewish community. Philip Perlmutter, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of metropolitan Boston, notes that Americans look for honesty, courage and integrity in their own leaders and adds sarcastically, "Begin has all those qualities and is damned." He defends the Prime Minister's instant rejection of Reagan's peace proposals: "In time we will all get around to realizing the severity of the minuses. The Administration is on the road toward doing to Israel what Carter did to Iran." The plan is also viewed as unrealistic by some Jews who are not necessarily admirers of Begin. New York University Professor Irving Kristol contends that in order to be accepted by any Israeli government, it would have to be modified in a way that the Arabs would indignantly reject. The U.S., says Kristol, "has shouldered a responsibility it cannot live up to."