Begin survives a narrow vote

The government of Prime Minister Menachem Begin survived a no-confidence motion in the Israeli parliament by a narrow margin. The vote was 57 to 54, with two abstentions. In a debate preceding the vote, opposition parties launched strong attacks on the government's economic policies. The Labor Party charged that Mr. Begin had no constructive economic ideas and called for a general election before scheduled voting next November. Joining in the antigovernment vote were former Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan and former Defense Minister Ezer Weizman. Until this vote they had not voted against their former government colleagues on any key issue.