L.A.S. "D. Ben-Gurion", October 13, 1960, in Moshe
SHARETT; 3 in-8 pages on lined peel paper (small rust mark from a staple); in Hebrew.
About the LAVON affair (named after the former Minister of Defence
Defence), to the former Prime Minister, then Director of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
[This scandal, involving the Israeli special services, which had organized attacks in Egypt in the mid-1950s to discredit the Egyptian regime and prevent the withdrawal of British troops from the Suez Canal area, had a twist in 1960 that implicated Ben-Gurion, and raised suspicions about Lavon].
He won't deal with the slander concerning the affair in Guivat Haim until the Lavon affair has been cleared up. Lavon's case is a burning issue, and must be settled through legal proceedings after an investigation by an official commission set up under the laws of the State of Israel. Now, he is obliged to draw his attention to a conflict between the instructions given on January 2, 1955 to the Olshan-Dori Commission of Inquiry that Sharett set up, and the testimony of
Lavon before the Foreign Affairs Committee. Lavon said, among other things, that he had asked for a commission of inquiry, but that the Prime Minister [Sharett] appointed the two men.
Ben-Gurion recalls this appointment, and a few other details, but the inquiry was to be limited to the Egyptian case. He does not want to dwell on Sharett's interpretations, but points out that the scope of the investigation has changed. Lavon's quotes do not accord with the terms or intentions of those who set up the Olshan-Dori commission on January 2, 1955, the date before Lavon's troubles began; Ben-Gourion quotes paragraph 2 of Sharett's instructions. Was this paragraph added after the beginning of Lavon's testimony? Ben-Gourion wonders about the possibilities, not trusting in any way the accuracy of Lavon's statements?
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