Thursday, October 16, 1975—THE BULLETIN—3
Dayan reveals here-
ISRAEL DOWNED RUSSIANS FLYING FOR ARABS
JWB Staff
During the undeclared war of attrition which followed the Six-bay War, the Israel airforce was fighting against the Soviet air-force backed iq) by Soviet ground technicians manning missiles and radar.
This was revealed publicly for perhaps one of the first times by General Moshe Dayan during his speaking tour of North America which has just ended.
Addressing an audience of some 1,000 persons at the University of British Columbia on Oct. 6, the former Israeli Chief-of-Staff and Defence Minister said that •then Egyptian President Nasser asked Moscow to send Russian pilots to Egypt and he received more than a positive reply.
Not only did the Russians immediately send pilots, but volunteered Soviet ground personnel to man SAM missile bases and other antiaircraft installations.
Dayan revealed that Israel shot down four Russian-piloted planes during that period, positive proof 0iat the entire Efioptian sky was controlled not by Egypt but by Russian pilots.
"UntU then we didn't know we were fighting the Russians as well the Arabs," Dayan said, "but we were."
In order not to escalate international tensions, the matter was kept secret and any stories that leaked out at that time were denied.
(Following the Six-Day War, there were also reports of Russian prisoners having been taken on the Syrian Golan front. This was denied as well at that period by high-ranking military offlcials interviewed, but some citzens of Israel who had fought on that front, .undeniably saw Russian prisoners being taken.)
The visiting Israeli Member of Parliament emphasized that this illustrated the basic difference in attitude of the two superpowers towards peace in the Middle East. The policy and attitude of the Russians, he stated, is that they want conflict and are willing to become directly involved in it, while the Americans don't want a war and don't want to get involved.
On the subject of the interim peace agreements between Egypt and Israel, General Dayan believes the first agreement at Kilometer 101 following the Yom Kippur War, is a good one because the two parties negotiated directly and sat face-to-face, and both sides made important concessions. He saw it as a real step towards peace: Egypt agreed to re-open the Suez Canal allowing Israeli cargo through and to rebuild Suez area cities; Israel agreed to withdraw its forces from the Canal side.
"There was clear progress towards peace, with civilians replacing military on both sides of the Suez Canal," he declared. |
The second accord recently negotiated by Kissinger was a bad agreement because it was not
FOREGO ISRAEL U.N. EXPULSION
NEW YORK — The Arab League has decided not to press for the suspension or expulsion of Israel from the United Nations. The decision was taken after a meeting here attended by the foreign ministers and other high officials of the 20 member States of the Arab League and representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Iraq, Libya and the PLO opposed the decision. In an attempt to placate them, and  demonstrate  its own "militancy," the Arab League issued a warning  to the United States that her plans to rearm Israel with the latest weapons endangered Middle East peace. ..JCNS
face-to-face negotiatims allowing the two sides to work out their differences and because Israel was the only one to make strategic concessimis, Dayan declared.
The Americans only put pressure on one of the parties, Israel, he explained, when they should also have been pressuring Egypt to end its state of belligerency against Israel.
"Nevertheless," he said, "even though I voted against it, I think it is better to have a peace agreement than no agreement at all. The majority rules."
General Dayan foresaw peace in the Middle East if Egypt, Syria and the Soviet Union will be parties to negotiate it.
"It is impossible to get peace right away, but you can get an
end to the state of war."
He described the two stages necessary to end the conflict: the first is to end the war with Syria, Egypt and Jordan; then one day when peace will be worked out, the Palestinians will have to be included.
"Then I think that the Palestinians will not want Arafat to represent them, but will want Jordan."
He stressed that if the Arabs had accepted the U.N. Partition Plan in 1947, as Israel did, there would have been no wars and no Arab or Jewish refugees. But because the Arabs rejected a Palestinian state believing that with their vast numbers and strength they could take the entire area of both the states, there.
were subsequently displaced 600,000 Arabs and 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
Vancouver was General Dayan's twenty-fifth campus lecture, his concluding one being in Toronto the next day.
Jim Lister, vice-president of the Young Progressive Conservatives, introduced the guest speaker together with Murray Zimmerman, representing Hillel House, moderated the lively question-and-answer period.
Dayan showed brilliance during this portion of the program, both in his answers and in the manner in which he fielded hostile questions. He. took command of the situation not allowing heck-, lers and disturbances to mar his presentation.
A minor scuffle inside the hall was quickly quelled by RCMP who maintained very effective security during the Dayan visit.
A demonstration by leftist Arab supporters using a megaphone marked "Simon Eraser University property," was countered by a slightiy smaller group of about SO comprised mostiy of Christian supporters of Israel. These included Rev. Grant Livingstone and Pastor Marvin Forseth.
Dayan's campus lecture was sponsored by Hillel House and the Alma Mater Society.
In the evening. General Dayan attended for a short while at a private reception in aid of Congregation Schara Tzedeck Education Fund.
BUSY SCHEDULE of activities for General Moshe Dayan Oct. 6 included an address at UBC (tap left) before a capacity audience, part <rf which is seen in plNto at middle right. WhUe he spoke a small group of pro-Arabs and Leftists (bottom right) demonstrated outside the Student IMon Buildinf. Dayan fvas guest of honor at an eveidng recq»tion at the Bajrshore Inn in support of the Schara Tzedeck Education Fund and he is seen at that event (top riifht) conversing with S.T. Rabbi Ifarvin Hier (rights Max Ftvnan Qcft), a member of the reception organizing com-mittee* and Us father, Harry FUgnian. b photo at bottom left, Dayan talks with Michael Bolotsid, a Talmud Torah grade five student racently arrived from Russia, whUe RaMn Raphael Minhowitz looks on.       (Photos by Tiber)