Menachem Begin

Menachem Begin , 1913-92, Zionist leader and Israeli prime minister (1977-83), b. Russia. He became (1938) leader of a Zionist youth movement in Poland, where he also earned a law degree. Begin went to Palestine in 1942; there, he headed the Irgun, a militant organization that fought against the British Mandate authorities. After 1949 he sat in the Knesset, where he led the opposition to the Labor party. In May, 1977, Begin's right-wing Likud party defeated Labor for the first time, and Begin became prime minister. He shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with Egyptian President Anwar al- Sadat as a result of the Camp David accords . In 1982, Begin authorized a massive invasion of Lebanon in order to destroy military bases of the Palestine Liberation Organization (see Arab-Israeli Wars ). The war caused intense domestic and international pressure and failed to achieve Israel's principal aims. Begin resigned from office in 1983.

Bibliography: See A. Perlmutter, The Life and Times of Menachem Begin (1987).

Begin, Menachem (1913–92),ultra-nationalist Polish Jew who, in September 1940, was imprisoned in the USSR on charges of espionage, but released after the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941 (see BARBAROSSA). He joined Anders' Army but deserted in Palestine and joined the Irgun, which he led from December 1943. He served as Israel's prime minister from 1977 to 1983.

Bibliography

Perlmutter, A. , Life and Times of Menachem Begin (New York, 1987).

Begin, Menachem (1913–92) Israeli statesman, prime minister (1977–83), b. Belarus. A Zionist, Begin was sentenced to eight years' slave-labour but was released in 1941 to fight in the new Polish army. As commander of the paramilitary Irgun Zeva'i Leumi, he led resistance to British rule until Israeli independence in 1948. As leader of the Freedom Party (Herut), Begin clashed with David Ben-Gurion and the animosity between the two men only eased in the Six-Day War (1967). In 1973 Begin became leader of the Likud Party. In 1977 Likud formed a coalition government with Begin as prime minister. Although a fervent nationalist, he sought reconciliation with Egypt and signed the Camp David Accord with Anwar Sadat in 1979. In recognition of their efforts they shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. Re-elected by a narrow margin in 1981, Begin maintained a hardline stance towards the West Bank and Gaza Strip. His popularity waned after Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon and he was succeeded by Yitzhak Shamir.