1/ Menachem Begin was one of the giants of Israeli history. Born in the city of Brest, then in the Russian Empire in 1913, he saw first-hand the ravages of antisemitism. Raised in a traditional Jewish house, he was raised a fervent Zionist, when he joined Betar at age 16. 
2/ He studied law at the University of Warsaw, and learned the oratory and rhetoric skills that would follow him throughout his life. He founded a self-defense group of Jewish students to stop antisemitic harassment, and became a disciple of Zeev #Jabotinsky in 1935.
3/ Begin rose quickly through Betar, and in 1937 became the active head of Betar and became head of its Polish division. In 1939, he undertook efforts to smuggle Jews from Poland to Palestine, but was sadly unsuccessful.
4/ When the Nazis invaded Poland, Begin fled to Lithuania, occupied by the Soviets. As a prominent Zionist, Begin was arrested by the NKVD and was tortured while detained. In June '41 he was sent to a labour camp until May 1942.
5/ In May 1942, Begin arrived in Palestine for the first time. He began to meet with members of the Irgun, a pre-state militia intent on fighting the British Mandate, and in Dec 1942 formally joined the Irgun.
6/ During the Holocaust, Begin's father, along with 5,000 other Jews in Brest were rounded up and either shot or drowned by the Nazis in the river in June 1941. His mother and eldest brother, Herzl, were also killed by the Nazis.
7/ During the war, and in those years leading to the establishment of the State of Israel, Begin made a name for himself in the Jewish underground. He criticized the mainstream Zionist establishment for cooperating with the British, and assumed leadership of the Irgun in 1944.
8/ February 1944 the Irgun declared a revolt against the British, attacking civilian targets such as post and tax offices. The following year, the Irgun joined with the Haganah and Lehi, other Jewish militias, to confront the British as a united front.
9/ In July 1946, the Irgun blew up a wing of the King David Hotel, a massive undertaking with significant casualties. The United fighting front fell apart after this attack, condemned as far too violent for the Haganah's liking.
10/ Only after the UN voted to partition Palestine in 1947, did the Irgun join again with the Haganah to fight the British. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence, and agreed that all militias would now fight under the banner of the @IDF
11/ In late June 1948, the Altalena ship arrived at the coast of Israel. It had weapons destined for the Irgun. Ben Gurion wanted those weapons distributed to the entirety of the army, not just one militia, which had now been folded into the army in any event.
12/ DBG demanded that Begin and the Irgun hand over the weapons, however he refused. Begin boarded the Altalena, which made its way to Tel Aviv. DBG gave orders to shell the ship, which was hit. The ship was evacuated, and 16 Irgun fighters were killed.
13/ After the Altalena incident, 200 Irgun fighters were arrested, until August 1948, when Begin agreed that the Irgun would now fully integrate with the IDF and not be kept in separate units.
14/ In August 1948, Begin formed the "Herut" political party, which essentially sat in the opposition in Israel for many years.
15/ In 1965, Herut and the Liberal Party formed the Gahal Party together under Begin's leadership. In 1967, at the start of the 6 Day War, Gahal joined the unity government under Levi Eshkol, making Begin a member of the cabinet for the first time, as Minister Without Portfolio
16/ In 1973, Begin formed the Likud (consolidation) Party, which was a bloc formed from Gahal, the Free Centre, and other smaller groups. The Likud Party began to grow in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War.
17/ On May 17, 1977, Begin was elected Prime Minister. It was the first time in Israel's 29 year history that the Labour Party was not in control of the government. The election results, known as the "Mahapach" (upheaval) had a massive impact on Israeli politics.
18/ One of Begin's first acts as PM (June 10, 1977) was to allow a number of Vietnamese Boat People, fleeing the Communist takeover of Vietnam, to enter Israel. Begin compared them to Holocaust refugees, and gave them safe-haven in Israel.
19/ In November 1977, Begin welcomed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to Israel for the first time in history, which led to the Camp David Accords in 1978, and an Israel-Egypt Peace Accord in 1979 with the help of US Pres Jimmy Carter. The 3 men were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
19/ In 1981, Begin took the decisive step of ordering the aerial bombing of Iraq's Osirak Nuclear Reactor (Operation Opera). Condemned publicly but feted privately around the world, Begin made sure that Iraq would never possess nuclear weapons.
20/ On June 6, 1982, Begin authorized the @IDF invasion of Lebanon to drive the PLO out of Lebanon. Operation Peace for Galilee was prompted by the attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador to the UK. Begin hoped for a short military engagement.
21/ Unfortunately, given the complicated political and military nature of Lebanon, the fighting was prolonged. The IDF was successful in forcing the PLO out of Lebanon (to Tunisia) but could not bring security to Israel's northern border.
22/ After the Sabra and Shatila massacres in September 1982 (committed by the Lebanese Phalangist militia, but not stopped adequately by Ariel Sharon, as determined later), the Israeli public grew dissatisfied by the Lebanon War.
23/ Public pressure on Begin increased, and he began to lose touch with what was happening in Lebanon. In November 1982, while in Washington to meet with the President, Begin's wife Aliza died. This threw him into a deep depression - they had been married for 43 years.
24/ In August 1983, Begin resigned, telling colleagues that he can't go on any longer, and handed over the premiership to Yitzchak Shamir, who had been the leader of the Lehi militia in the 1940s.
25/ Begin spent the rest of his life in seclusion. He would rarely leave his apartment, and when he did, it would be to visit his wife's grave. He would apparently read a book every day, and listened to the BBC every morning.
26/ On Mar 3, 1992, Begin suffered a heart attack and placed on intensive care. He remained in serious condition, until March 9, when he died early in the morning. He was buried that afternoon on the Mt. Olives in Jerusalem.
He left behind 3 children: Benny, Leah and Hasia
He left behind 3 children: Benny, Leah and Hasia
27/ He chose Mt. of Olives (as opposed to Mt. Herzl) so that he could be buried next to his wife, and in between two pre-state fighters, Meir Feinstein (Irgun) and Moshe Barzani (Lehi) who committed suicide in jail while awaiting execution by the British
28/ 75,000 mourners were present for the funeral, including the President, PM, all cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, Knesset members, and former Irgun high command members, who served as pallbearers.
29/ Menachem Begin was one of Israel's greatest.
We recommend reading either of his two books: The Revolt amazon.ca/Revolt-Menahem…
or White Nights amazon.ca/White-Nights-P…
We recommend reading either of his two books: The Revolt amazon.ca/Revolt-Menahem…
or White Nights amazon.ca/White-Nights-P…
30/ As well, @DanielGordis wrote "Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul" which is also highly recommended amazon.ca/Menachem-Begin…
and @GeraldNGOM "Menachem Begin and the Israel-Egypt Peace Process" amazon.ca/Menachem-Begin…
and @GeraldNGOM "Menachem Begin and the Israel-Egypt Peace Process" amazon.ca/Menachem-Begin…
/31 Finally, in a remark to Senator @JoeBiden, in 1982, when discussing aid to Israel, Begin said:
@threadreaderapp unroll
