Rebbe, R Henkin, Ben-Gurion, Aba Eben, Yuval Neman, Mi Hu Yehudi - Rabbi AS Levine #5- RC Dalfin

We're here with Ramsh Lavine. This is part five of a tremendous wonderful interview. Meaningful interviews is our program. Rabbi Lavine, please tell us about Rafen and who is a Jewi, please. Okay. What I'm telling you now is already printed in in the center of the Reb, the sponsor of the Reb, and I think in probably 28. But uh I'll say things that maybe were not me included there. Yeah. Rhenin used to every mo shabas he would listen to the radio to hear what's doing in about your life. He would listen to WEVD. WVD news from Yes. He would also listen to Jovineberg. Tanya. Yeah. Saturday nights. Yes. And then came the was a Jewish issue where the Reb condemned it from every chabas. He would speak against it from 1970. from PUM 1970. He said Purum from PUM 1970. He would not leave out one public gathering that he would not mention about the the terrible decree that the ominous decree of mood which which meant that you don't have we didn't say right right that you can that a Jew can even become a Jew if he's converted whatever form conversion or conservative or conservative and every there wouldn't be a public gathering where the rebel would not speak about it maybe he would speak about it 15 minutes a half hour an hour but he would always mention and Rabbi Wine would also repeat it that much is shabas in in his delivery yeah one time I came in on Sunday morning I come in to hank and he says to me listen I don't think the reb is right in in in demanding the ma at that time the reb demanded the ma which was the national religious party which is part of the coalition of the golden Mary coalition to go out of the government. The Reb felt that if they would go out of the government she would have a to what to amend the law and to bring them back and by them not going out is like sort of sustaining the right conceding to them. Yeah. So the Reb always would that was was a demand of the Reb they should go out of the government. But Franken says to me I don't think the Reb is right because if they go out of the government who's going to be left there's no Yiddish guy they as long they preserve something they preserve some Yiddish some degree of Yiddish but if they go out who's going to and I think you should write this to them. I want you to tell this to them. Now, at the first glance, I said to myself, what am I going to bother the be with with a thing like a thing like this? I didn't I didn't mention it. I didn't mention it. Came back a week or two weeks later. He says to me again, I want you to write to the So, at this point, I said to myself, I see he's very adamant about it. if I'm not if I'm not going to do it, somebody else will do it. So, I I'll tell him to tell me what to write and and um and he'll sign it. It's not me writing, it's him signing it. Yeah. So, he so he said that that's what he said. He said that they I don't think you'll ever be able to get this law to be amended because someone in the government itself has a son who's married to a So if you would amend it, it would be against his family. He would never do such a thing in his life. So I don't and I don't think you should you should speak about it because you're taking away from the guy that there is. And I sent that into the Reb and I figured, you know, I'll send it to Reb. I forgot about it because I didn't think I didn't think the Reb would would even respond to it. But I was overwhelmed, so shocked almost. I sent it in and it was a Thursday morning at 10:00 in the morning. And at 1:00 or 12:00, I called up Rab Klein the secretary about something else and he says, "Where are you? I'm looking for you from for two hours already because what you sent in the Reb immediately sent out a letter an answer." The Reb said like this, you probably mean Bengurian Bengura's son who's married to but you should know that the tap when Bengurian was in the government the law was was was right they didn't change the law had to be they changed it after Bengurian right when golden mayor took over and the reason that I want they should stay there because that they should leave is because by them staying there they sustain Yes. So immediately that was the answer. That was the answer. Now Friday I did not go into I did not learn it on Friday. Right. So that means I would have to give him the answer Sunday. Yes. But this is an answer. Rabbi Hen. This is uh Thursday, but I'm going to wait three days if I get an answer. The reb. So you went down you went down to his page. Yes. So ready. So I went down. I asked a friend of mine, Ichigon Rich, you should drive me down and we went into his house 7:00 in the evening. Thursday night? Yeah. Thursday night. And I gave it to him and I told him the answer and he said, "No, he didn't mean him." He didn't mean Benorio. And uh so I said, "What do you mean?" So he sort of like he he was reluctant to tell you. He said because he felt he didn't want somebody else. He he knew somebody else was in the room. So I asked to to go out right to leave the room. He says to me and he so I said, "Who do you mean?" I asked said, "Yes, I mean." So okay, good. So I go back to 77 and I write to the Reb on Sunday. I wrote to Reb. gave over the the answer and he said it's ebb. So the reb answers me a whole thing. It's printed. The answer is to you. Yes. That should tell to the rabbi. Uhhuh. The answer to to Rabbi Hikim, right? But it's addressed to your name. Yes. Because I gave it to I Okay. Okay. Just want to know. Okay. So he says so Reb says Abien. Abi Eban is Jewish. his wife is the sister-in-law is the sister of the of the wife is is the sister-in-law of of the kala of of a whole thing the whole thing uh six six points where the reb says why why he once again why you have to amend the law and and so and he's and what he's saying is that aba would support it is that what he's implying Yes. Yes. That's not it's not him. He it's not him at all. And so I told it to him and he said but they I started oh the reb mentioned the old that they have to go out. So I told this to said but they didn't say a date. They didn't say a date when they have to go out. So I sent this back to the Reb and here the Reb wrote a very sharp few lines but it was very sharp to Rahen to Rahen and he says no so said that since they didn't write a date so it's a political issue so the answered a very sharp answer he said when you say make a or whatever It's 30 days according to Jewish law. When you don't mention something, right, it's 30 days. So that to say that it's a political issue. They could say the same thing about your about your right. That was the end of that correspondence. Ever since then, Rebel when I told this to Rebankin, he ac he he like he understood he understood it. He accepted it. He got it and that was it. But I want to add what I want to add here is a very very interesting thing. But when I came to Israel, I started working in mcnesset. Maybe that'll be for another interview. Yeah. 1980. Yeah. 1982. 82. I became the the the assistant to professor Yuval Neanuval who Yuval Nean. He was the head. Yes. He was the head scientist of the of the of Israel. He was the main scientist. So you were assistant to him. I was assistant to him and we actually well I'm not going to into it now. Began wanted him in the coalition. He was in the coalition. He was in opposition. Uhhuh. coalition. And when and had demands and when one of those demands was that he should be head of the committee which authorizes to to erect settlements in Shamro and he agreed to that. So he became a minister. Now a minister, not a minister, a member of the there's there's a each one has a a closet where he puts his his his stuff. He comes when he comes in, he takes off his jacket, his coat, you know. Yeah. A locker. A locker room. There were lockers. A locker room. There's a locker room in the Knesset. Yeah. The locker room. And each has yu man's locker room locker was adjacent was right to to uh okay when he became minister he doesn't need this locker he has a whole room for himself right so I took over the locker okay I would be meeting Abban almost every day as he's changing this stuff you uh so one time I decided I'll tell this story and I that we told this whole story what what happened and he heard what Susie that's his wife's name Susie ago Suz's what is a Susie ago she's blond the baby because she's from Switzerland maybe but like he was he was shocked to say that to to think that every somebody would suspect his wife of being not Jewish. Uhhuh. It was interesting. But that ever said that she is Jewish, but it sort of like implied no. Yes. Yes. But you have Hen thought. Yeah. Yeah. So he was like wondering how somebody could think because she's blonde. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, by the way, since you mentioned Beckitser briefly, how did you get that position? Briefly. Briefly. Yes. Okay. You came into this country. You were working fabulous. How'd you get into the camp politics into the contestant? Okay. Okay. Look through Galitzki. No. No. Not at all. And be when I worked on him, I was also the last years that I worked from 79. I think it was 7978. I was also a respondent for the Jewish press. The correspondent in the United Nations. Uhhuh. Yeah. So and I would write also about Israel about all kinds of stuff when in English or in English when the party was formed. Which one? They were against Camp David. Okay. Very much against Camp David. Okay. And they left the coalition. Gulak was in the party. Gulico, right? And they left the coalition because of Camp David. Okay. So we had identical views with so Yuval Neam was the head of the party and one time he came to raise funds in America. So I got a call from an acquaintance of mine who knew who you says you know you have an opportunity now to to interview him uh Yuvan he's a personality professor. Yeah and all that. So uh I went down we met and we I made an interview and at that time was the issue of Awax the United States was ready to send to Awax those reconnaissance planes very spies plane very sophisticated right to Saudi Arabia which is and Israel is against it. is a big threat. Right now, Yuva was also a head of military intelligence in the 1967 war. Maybe he was his deputy. I mean, he's okay, that's my first self. So, he so I interviewed him and I said, "What do you think about the US?" So, he says, "You know something? If you speak from a security point of view, this that they're ready to give up Yamit Sinai to the Egyptians is like giving the Egyptians 2,000 AMAX. Wow. Now, I got that, you know, you got that from him. So, right following week, you wrote it up in the Jewish press. The following week was a big headline in the Jewish press. Return of Yamit equals 2,000. Oh, that was you know, you know, like the Jewish press could do. Yeah. Okay. Then like two weeks later, a couple of weeks later, I came to Israel. I came to You moved and I went to the Knesset to show and and show you the article. The article. So he was very impressed and he says, "Listen, I need a farm press spokesman." Huh? Maybe you want that. I got a job. Wow. That's briefly. Okay. That's beautiful. Hold on a second now. Okay.