JERUSALEM, March 29 —The incident occurred more than 20 years ago, but to this day it arouses Israelis like nothing else.

It led, successively, to the downfall of a defense minister, the resignation of Premier David Ben‐Gurion. the collapse of one Israeli Government and a deep rift in the ruling Labor party that is not vet healed. Now, in the wake of a remarkably candid interview broadcast on Israeli television this month, the coals of the infamous “Lavon affair” have been stirred up once again.

Three members of an Israeli intelligence ring that operated in Egypt, 20 years ago charged in the interview that they spent 12 unnecessary years in jail because certain Israeli leaders would have been embarrassed by the tales they might have told after their release. Although they did not say so directly, their implication was that former Defense Minister Moshe Dayan was one of the leaders who failed to push for their freedom.

The passage of time notwith standing, such an accusation is still political dynamite in Israel. It immediately brought about a spate of front‐page articles, charges and countercharges by former Israeli intelligence figures, questions in the Parliament and, from the pubtic, more than 1,000 telephone calls and telegrams to the national television network plead?? for a rebroadcast.