Menachem Begin

Menachem Wolfovitch Begin (August 16, 1913-March 9, 1992) ( name in Hebrew: {{Audio|He-Menachem_Begin.ogg|??????? ???????}} ) became the 6th Prime Minister of Israel in May 1977. With the mediation of US President Jimmy Carter, Begin negotiated the Camp David Accords with President Sadat of Egypt, agreeing on the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the Sinai Peninsula and its return to Egypt. Begin and Sadat were awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for this implementation of "Land for peace".

Prime Minister of Israel

:See: Prime Minister of Israel.

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1977: Negotiating a majority for the Knesset

(Note: Israel has a system of proportional representation, meaning that in the national elections the voting is for a political party, and not for a candidate. Each party submits its list of candidates, and based on the number of votes it receives in each national election, a "proportional" number of seats for its candidates are alloted, and they then become members of the 120 seat Knesset -- the parliament of Israel. The candidate at the top of the largest party's list is then entitled to negotiate a majority government any way he can with other parties, and then becomes the government's Prime Minister when he finally has an agreed upon majority behind him and is able to form a cabinet.)

Related Topics:
Proportional representation - National elections - Political party - Proportion - Knesset - Parliament

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In 1977 Likud obtained the largest number of votes becoming the largest party, but still far from the more than 60 seats needed to form a majority government in the Knesset chamber which seats 120 members only. At the same time former Israeli Chief of Staff (1949-1952) General Yigael Yadin launched a new political party the Democratic Movement for Change (DMC), known by its Hebrew acronym DASH, together with Professor Amnon Rubenstein, Shmuel Tamir, Meir Amit, and many other prominent Israeli public figures. In the 1977 elections, the new party did remarkably well for its first attempt to enter the Knesset, winning 15 of the 120 seats. As a result of the election, Menachem Begin as the Likud party leader was able to form a coalition with the DMC, thereby excluding the Labor Party for the first time in Israel's history. As the new Deputy Prime Minister, Yadin played a pivotal role in many events that took place, particularly the contacts with Egypt, which eventually led to the signing of the Camp David Accords and the peace treaty between Israel and its neighbor.

Related Topics:
1977 - Likud - Knesset - Yigael Yadin - Amnon Rubenstein - Shmuel Tamir - Meir Amit - Labor Party

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After forming a political alliance with Yigael Yadin's DMC that had obtained 15 seats, and with former IDF Chief of Staff (1955-1958) and former Minister of Defense (1967-1973) General Moshe Dayan defecting from Labor taking on the position of Likud Foreign Minister, and with the final agreement with the Haredi rabbis of the Agudat Israel party to allow their faction of 5 Knesset members to join Begin's coalition, Begin had his Knesset majority lined up behind him and was finally able to become the sixth Prime Minister of Israel, leading Israel's first non-Labour, "center-right" government.

Related Topics:
IDF - Moshe Dayan defecting from Labor taking on the position of Likud Foreign Minister - Haredi - Rabbi - Agudat Israel - Knesset - Prime Minister of Israel

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1978: Camp David Accords

:See: Camp David Accords (1978) and Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Related Topics:
Camp David Accords (1978) - Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

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In 1978 Begin, aided by retired General Moshe Dayan as Foreign Minister, negotiated the Camp David Accords and in 1979 Begin signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty with Anwar Sadat. Under the terms of the treaty, Israel handed over the Sinai peninsula to Egypt, which had been its most important Arab foe

Related Topics:
1978 - Moshe Dayan - Camp David Accords - 1979 - Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty - Anwar Sadat - Sinai peninsula - Arab

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This was a partial fulfilment of UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1967 which came in the wake of the Six-Day War and called for "withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict" (see semantic dispute) in exchange for an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The "territories" here refer to the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. The United States provided additional political guarantees and financial assistance to relocate Israeli military bases in the Sinai to Israel's Negev desert.

Related Topics:
UN Security Council Resolution 242 - 1967 - Six-Day War - Semantic dispute - Arab-Israeli conflict - West Bank - East Jerusalem - Gaza Strip - Sinai Peninsula - Golan Heights - United States - Negev

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Moving out of the Sinai also involved demolition of Israeli civilian settlements there (including the town of Yamit), bringing about internal opposition to Begin's policies, eventually leading to a split in his own Likud party.

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1981:Bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor

:See: Osiraq.

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Begin took the anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic threats of Saddam Hussein very seriously and therefore took aim at Iraq. Israel attempted to negotiate with France so as to not provide Iraq with the nuclear reactor at Osiraq, but to no avail. In 1981 Begin ordered the bombing and destruction of Iraq's Tammuz nuclear reactor by the Israeli Air Force in a successful long-range operation. Soon after, Begin enunciated what came to be known as the Begin doctrine: "On no account shall we permit an enemy to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD) against the people of Israel." Many foreign governments, including the Unites States, condemned the operation, and the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution 487 condemning it. The Israeli left-wing opposition criticized it also at the time, but mainly for its timing relative to elections only three weeks later.

Related Topics:
Anti-Zionist - Anti-Semitic - Saddam Hussein - Iraq - France - Nuclear reactor - 1981 - Iraq's Tammuz nuclear reactor - Israeli Air Force - Begin doctrine - Weapons of mass destruction - Unites States - United Nations Security Council - Resolution 487

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1982:Lebanon invasion

:See 1982 Invasion of Lebanon.

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In 1982, Begin authorized the Israel Defense Forces' invasion of Lebanon, citing the need to put the PLO out of rocket range of Israel's northern border. This began the Israeli engagement in southern Lebanon which lasted for three years (with limited Israeli presence in Lebanon continuing until 2000). According to Haaretz reporter Uzi Benziman, the then Minister of Defense Ariel Sharon may have "deceived" Begin as to the purpose of the war, and extended it without authorization. Sharon sued Haaretz and Benziman in 1991. The trial lasted 11 years, with one of the highlights being the deposition of Benny Begin, Menachem Begin's son, in favor of the defendants. Sharon lost the case

Related Topics:
1982 - Israel Defense Forces - Lebanon - PLO - Israeli engagement in southern Lebanon - 2000 - Haaretz - Uzi Benziman - Ariel Sharon - Benny Begin

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http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=200568.

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1983:Retirement from public life

Begin himself retired from politics in August 1983 and handed over the reins of the office of Prime Minister to his old friend-in-arms who had been the leader of the Lehi resistance to the British, Yitzhak Shamir. Begin had become deeply disappointed and depressed by the war in Lebanon because he had hoped to establish peace with Bashir Gemayel who was assassinated. Instead there were mounting Israeli casualties which he deeply regretted. The death of his devoted and beloved wife Aliza Begin in Israel while he was away on an official visit to Washington DC, added to his own mounting depression.

Related Topics:
August - 1983 - Lehi - Yitzhak Shamir - Bashir Gemayel - Aliza Begin - Depression

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