Bar Lev Says Soviet Ouster Eases Israel’s Canal Defense

The ouster by President Sadat of Soviet military advisors from Egypt is to Israel’s advantage because if war erupts along the Suez Canal, Israel will have to deal only with an Egyptian force and not an Egyptian Army backed and aided by Soviet units, Gen. Chaim Bar Lev, former chief of staff, told a gathering here today. The occasion was a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the death of Gen. Itzhak Sadeh, commander of the crack pre-State Palmach underground forces and later first commander of Israel’s armored corps.

Gen. Bar Lev, now Commerce and Industry Minister, said also it was “logical” to assume that without Soviet backing and encouragement, Egypt will not be in any hurry to resume military action against Israel. The general stressed that the battle capabilities of Arab fighters still lagged behind that of Israel. He said there were two reasons. One was the lack of a real cause for the Arabs to fight for and the other was the lack of skills required for modern warfare.

He also said that during the Egyptian “war of attrition” along the canal, which preceded the 1970 cease-fire agreement, “we learned that the Israeli soldier easily adapted himself to conditions of static warfare.” The meeting was attended by Premier Golda Meir, Deputy Premier Yigal Allon, former Palmach officers and commanders of the Israeli Army.

Gen. Bar Lev said it had become clear to the Soviets that the degree of involvement in Egypt they had practiced to that point was not enough to help the Egyptians defeat Israel, but that they feared greater intervention was too dangerous. Accordingly, he said, the Soviet policy became one of public backing for a political solution. That decision, he said, infuriated the Egyptians and was a factor in the decision to expel the Soviet advisors. Earlier in the day, a group of disciples of Sadeh, headed by his former second in command, Gen. Allon, held a memorial meeting at Sadeh’s graveside at Givat Brenner.