On the 4^th of Adar Bet 5752 (9 March 1992) Menachem Begin passed away. In accordance with his will, he was buried on the Mount of Olives. A simple Jewish funeral ceremony was held in the presence of thousands. Begin requested to be buried near resistance fighters Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barzani. He was buried beside his wife, Aliza, whom died on November 13, 1982 was buried.

 

On August 28, 1983 Begin announced his intention to resign and retire from public life. He only mentioned these words: “I am no longer able”, and didn’t elaborate any further. The resignation was submitted on September 15 of the same year. In subsequent years, he withdrew to his apartment in Jerusalem, and came out only to visit the grave of his wife, at an annual memorial service. Family members, relatives and a handful of friends visited him periodically. In his last 18 months of life he lived in Tel Aviv, with his daughter Leah.

On November 13, 1982 Aliza Begin, Menachem Begin’s wife, died. Aliza suffered for many years and had of died of severe lung disease, when Menachem was on an official visit to the United States. Aliza was buried in accordance with her will, besides underground fighters Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barzani on the Mount of Olives.

On June 3, 1982, Israeli ambassador to London Shlomo Argov was shot by Palestinian terrorists. The next day, a special cabinet meeting was convened and Begin instructed the air force to attack terrorist targets in southern Lebanon. In response, the terrorists launched a heavy attack of Katyusha rockets on northern Israel, and on June 6, the cabinet met again and decided to launch the “Peace for Galilee Operation” in order to protect the residents of the north.

The operation was designed to harm terror organizations and ensure that the forty miles surrounding the border would be terrorist-free. But the fighting became more complx – the IDF was forced to continue north all the way to Beirut. In August 1982 the fighting forced the PLO leader Yasser Arafat to leave Lebanon, with thousands of terrorists. A short time later, Lebanese president-elect Bachir Gemayel was assassinated. In response, Christian Phalanges Massacred a Muslim refugee camp(Savra VeShatila), leading to Israeli intervention. Some time later, the IDF withdrew to the security zone in southern Lebanon. The war spurred controversy due to the many lost lives, and constant demonstrations were held outside Begin’s home demanding he stop the fighting.

The Tenth Knesset elections were among the most turbulent in the history of the state. During this turbulent time, emotions ran high and the election made clear of an ethnic gap that was growing within Israeli society. At a public Labor Party assembly, entertainer Dudu Topaz made an offensive remark regarding Mizrahi Jew, saying that the “Chakh’chakhim”[1] were at the Likud headquarters. These degrading remarks sparked an uprising. At a Likud rally held the next day, Begin responded with a very charismatic speech, his voice thundering, and called for unity of “Jews! Brothers! Warriors!”. In the elections that were held on June 30, 1981, the Likud was once again the largest party, with 48 seats, and Menachem Begin was elected prime minister again.

[1] Slang for a punk – a child, teenager or adult who is wild and unruly

In order to prevent Iraq from continuing the development of nuclear weapons, and after diplomatic efforts failed to stop Saddam Hussein’s plot, the Israeli government decided to destroy the nuclear reactor being built in Osirak, which was close to completion. The decision was preceded by many discussions and in-depth talks with the security officials on the prospects of success of such a bold operation. On June 7, 1981, two sets of four F-16 plains left Etzion Base and headed toward Iraq. The reactor had been totally destroyed and all the pilots flew out safely. After the Israeli government took responsibility for the operation, it was criticized both domestically and from the international community; the US even went so far as to delay for several months the supply of F-16 aircrafts to the Israeli Air Force. Begin, however, viewed the attack a rescue operation for the Children of Israel. In later years it became more widely accepted that the destruction of the reactor was also vital to ensure the security of the entire Western world.

With the aim of reaching a peace agreement between the two countries, US President Jimmy Carter called for a conference at Camp David. At the end of the thirteen day conference, a framework agreement for peace with Egypt and a framework agreement for peace in the Middle East were signed, which included proposed autonomy for the Palestinians. The agreements weren’t signed without some drama: Carter intended to include an appendix which puts in doubt the status of Jerusalem. Begin clearly stated his refusal to include the appendix, and threatened to leave the conference.

The success of Begin and Sadat to promote peace between their two countries garnered the two leaders with the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to them in Oslo, Norway. The prize money was turned in to a scholarship fund named in honor of Aliza Begin, which provides assistance to students each year. After detailed negotiations and the bringing of the agreement to the Knesset for approval, it was signed on March 26, 1979. The peace treaty with Egypt was signed on the White House lawn in Washington.

On the night of May 17, 1977, after running in 8 elections, Begin scored a great victory and became the leader of the majority in the Knesset. Cries of protest were voiced within the leftist camps, such as the call of one of its senior leaders, Yitzhak Ben Aharon: “The people made a mistake”.

At 1:00 AM, Begin arrived at the Independence Hall in Mezudat Ze’ev. Surrounded by his family and supporters, Begin spoke to the crowd and delivered words of appreciation to his friends and political colleagues. Begin saved his best thank you for last and thanked his wife Aliza for “your affection of youth, your love of espousal, how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown,” paraphrasing the verse from Jeremiah.

A month later a new government was introduced to the Knesset. It was accepted in good faith and Begin became the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. In his inauguration speech Begin said “we will do [our work], my friends and I, with dedication, loyalty, good conscience, a confident heart and with faith that with God’s help we can do the people good”.

His first decision as prime minister was making a humanitarian gesture towards refugees from Vietnam rejected by many countries. Begin ordered to absorb sixty-six refugees who were collected aboard an Israeli merchant ship, drawing a comparison to similar ships carrying Jewish refugees in the 1930s.  Begin later ordered the absorption of 1700 more Vietnamese refugees.

In the economic sphere, Begin worked to develop a free economic atmosphere in the spirit of the West. In a dramatic press conference held on October 29^th, Begin and Minister of Finance Simha Erlich announced the deregulation of foreign currency, toward economic liberalization and the expansion of individual freedoms, through reducing the government’s involvement in the everyday lives of its citizens. The first move was to make the Israeli economy generally a Western economy, driven by private initiative.

On the political level, Begin announced that his first task was making peace with the Arab states. In August 1977, Begin attended diplomatic meetings in Romania, which gave rise to negotiations with Morocco and led to an meeting with King Hassan. Later, Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan was sent to Morocco to meet with an adviser to Sadat, Hassan Tuhami.

Policy changes led to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat declaring that he is ready to go to the Knesset and start direct negotiations with Israel. Begin responded to the call, and on Saturday night of November 19, 1977, the Egyptian President landed in Israel. In his speech to the Knesset Begin declared that the “war is preventable; Peace is inevitable”, and the peace process was launched.

Before the election for the eigth Knesset, the “Likud” was established. The Knesset now consisted of several political parties, including  Gahal, the National List, “Free Center” and the Movement for Greater Israel. The election results showed a trend of further decline of the Labor Party and further increased the Likud’s power; Likud won 39 seats compared to 51 seats for Labor. Begin announced that for the first time, there is a solid majority of members who oppose the idea of dividing Western Israel.

In May 1967, following the deterioration in the security situation and in light of the threat of an Arab war against Israel, Menachem Begin approached Levi Eshkol and requesteded that Ben-Gurion be included in the government in order bring renewed hope to the public. Eshkol had reservations, but requested to add Gahal to a National Unity Government, and Begin requested the defense portfolio be handed to Moshe Dayan.

On June 1^st Begin began to join government meetings. On June 5^th, the day the Six Day War broke out, he was sworn in as a minister without porfilio. His contribution was crucial in making the directive to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem and the decision to unite the city.

In 1965, after a decade of bickering and disagreement, representatives of Herut and the Liberal Party decided to create a single parliamentary bloc – Gahal – led by Menachem Begin. This step gave Begin further legitimacy and made him the first true alternative to challenge the Mapai government. However, in the sixth parliamentary elections, the Herut-Liberal bloc received 26 seats, although predictions had them at a higher numbers.

The Revisionist Movement Leader ordered in his will that his remains will be raised only by order of a Jewish government, but with the establishment of Israel, Ben-Gurion refused to take the necessary steps on the matter. After Levi Eshkol was elected to head the government, he agreed to Begin’s request and approved the transfer of Jabonitsky’s remains to Mount Herzl for burial, but stated that the country would not participate in financing the burial ceremony.

In July 1964, Jabotinsky’s remains were brought to Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people came to the funeral and accompanied the casket on its way from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The emotional event was one of the turning points in the public attitude toward Begin, which became increasingly more positive and supportive.

Following the defeat of the Herut Party in the elections for the Second Knesset, receiving only eight seats, Begin announced his resignation as head of Herut. However, his friend, Yochanan Bader, did not present his resignation to the Knesset Foreman. After a month-long leave in Europe, Begin began to contact lawyers to prepare for obtaining a license practice law. A few months later it was revealed that the government, led by David Ben-Gurion, intends to sign an agreement toward getting reparations from Germany. Begin, who objected strongly, decided to return to the political arena and lead the movement to fight against the reparations.

The idea of receiving reparations sparked strong public controversy. The government asked the Knesset to approve its power to negotiate with the German government for providing reparations to Israel. Begin attacked the upcoming agreement due to problematic phrasing – the agreement was presented as a kind of a way to correct and wipe clean the genocide committed by the Germans – and because the payments did not reflected on the true amount of the looted and stolen items from the Jewish people in Europe.

On January 7^th, a debate took place at the Knesset, which was then located on King George Street in Jerusalem. Before the hearings started, Begin gave a heated speech at a mass rally in Zion Square nearby, and then returned to the Knesset, where he was the target of repeated insults from Ben-Gurion. Begin retorted with harsh words of his own, and when he refused to retract them, he has been banned for three months from the plenum. The battle regarding the reparations became a violent demonstration, during which protesters clashed with police and threw stones at the Knesset, shattering the windows of the building.

As a child, Begin expressed a desire to be a lawyer in order to “help the poor and downtrodden”. In 1931, Begin began studying Law at the University of Warsaw, and after four years of study was certified with a “Magister Yuri” degree. While studying, he earned his living by tutoring and accepted a few scholarships, but sometimes, when he couldn’t make ends meet, he was forced to sleep at night on a park bench. Despite the tight conditions, he took part in student life, and was among the head organizers of the self-defense of Jewish students against anti-Semitic rioters.

The Begin children took part in the local Jewish youth movements. Menachem Begin initially joined the “Shomer HaTzair”, at a time when it was a scouts movement, but once it became a Marxist-oriented movement, Begin left it and joined the Betar youth movement, founded by Ze’ev Jabotinsky. Begin was a key activist, and later became commander of the Brisk Headqueaters. In his memoirs, he said: “What drew me to Betar was the Complete Zionism, the Land of Israel, a Jewish state soon in our days.”

In 1930, he first heard Ze’ev Jabotinsky, founder of the Jewish Legion and leader of the Revisionist Party and Betar, who had visited Brisk. Later Begin defined his impression of the man who made him head of Betar: “Won over? – No. More than that. sanctified”.

Menachem Begin was born in Brest-Litovsk (Brisk) Lithuania, on the thirteenth of Av 5673 (16 August 1913) to parents Wolf-Dov and Hassia (Kosovski) Begin, big brother Herzl and Rachel. His name, Menachem (Comforting), was given to him because he was born on Shabbat “Nachamu”. His father made his living as secretary of the Jewish community and was one of the first Zionists in his town. Their home hosted many discussions surrounding the fate of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. With the outbreak of World War I, when Menachem Begin was a one year old toddler, the family had to abandon their home and wander in villages in eastern Poland. After the war, the family returned to Brisk, where Menachem began his studies. Begin showed his rhetorical skills from an early age, and he made his first public speech when he was only ten years old: at a Lag B’Omer celebration on behalf of the Zionist community, he addressed the cities children about the importance of the time and its relation to national revival. He was not afraid to fight for Jewish identity and refused to write exams on Saturday’s, even when punished.