The Sun also rises .....

Eliezer Sudit, a former member of the Irgun has published a journal, Be'shlihut Ha'matzpun (On a Mission of Conscience). which has been published in a limited number of copies. It is a grubby litle footnote into the seamy underside of the thugs, that launched the state of Israel by a grubby little man eking out a life in a senset home, who feels he has to place his grubby little secret into the sunshine.

It reveals details of the plot to kill the then-West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1952 , with the objective of sabotaging the reparations agreements with Israel.

Sudit reveals that Irgun leader Menachim Begin (and later PM) knew of the plans to assassinate Adenauer, and even initiated meetings to promote the operation. Among other things, Sudit writes that he heard Begin had offered to sell his gold watch to pay for the hit after the operation ran into financial difficulties.

On March 27, 1952, a German sapper checking mail was killed by an explosive device that had been hidden in an item of mail addressed to Adenauer. 2 letter bombs were also sent to the meeting place of the Israeli and German delegations by a group calling themselves the Jewish Partisans Organization.

Sudit now claims he prepared the explosive device and hid it in the package sent to Adenauer.

On March 27, 1952, a German sapper was killed by an explosive device that had been hidden in an item of mail addressed to Adenauer. At the same time, two letter bombs were sent to the meeting place of the Israeli and German delegations by a group calling themselves the Jewish Partisans Organization.

A few weeks later, five Israelis were arrested in France on suspicion of involvement in the assassination attempt. One of the men arrested was Sudit.

According to Sudit, he met secretly with Begin and suggested "an operation that would shake the world and prove that not all Israelis are prepared to accept money as atonement for blood."

Sudit writes that Begin was very unhappy with the reparations agreement in the works, noting that the former prime minister "was ready for any reaction that would come as long as the reparations agreement was avoided."

Sudit says that Begin subsequently introduced him to then-Herut MKs Yohanan Bader and Haim Landau, and also Abba Shertzer, who headed the Irgun's intelligence service. It was Shertzer who told Sudit of Begin's readiness to sell his gold watch to finance the trip to France.

According to the journal, Begin and Sudit met once more before the latter left to carry out his mission.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine is going to publish extracts from the journal in the near future.

Begin's personal secretary, Yehiel Kadishai, and Herzl Makov, the director of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, told Haaretz Monday night that they knew nothing of Begin's involvement in the affair.

Sun Records, 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, opened their doors on the same day, March 27th 1952 and later on July 5, 1954, with Scotty Moore playing guitar and Bill Black slapping bass a young man called Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right, (Mama)." Two days later the songs launched on Memphis radio and Sun's rise began... the rest, as they say is history.