Menachem Begin was an Israeli politician and revolutionary who served as the 6th Prime Minister of Israel. He was captivated by Zionism from a young age and played a key role in the Irgun, a Zionist paramilitary group. As prime minister, he signed a peace treaty with Egypt which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. Though controversial for his tactics in establishing Israel and as leader during the Lebanon War, he left a legacy as a leader who helped create the state of Israel.

1. Menachem Begin
Honor Society 2014
Dalya Adler, Devory Lebowitz, Rebecca Lipsky, Nomi Rabhan,
Kayla Reich, Leora Spitz and Michal Yacker

2. Childhood and Early Life
“I was captivated by the integrality of Betar’s
Zionism, the Land of Israel, the aspiration to
establish a Jewish state in our time.”

3. Role in the Irgun
“We did not imagine that even one life would be
lost. We did our best to ensure that everyone
would be evacuated from the King David hotel.”

4. Early Involvement in Politics
“He [David Ben-Gurion] never understood
that the very essence of Ze’ev Jabotinsky's
teachings was the establishment of a liberal
parliamentary democracy.”

5. Accomplishments as
Prime Minister
“It is for their work in laying a foundation for future peace
between these two one-time enemy countries that the
President of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat, and the Prime Minister of
Israel, Menachem Begin, have been honoured with the Nobel
Peace Prize for 1978.”

6. Menachem
Begin in
1977 as
leader of
opposition
calls to stay
in Samaria
and not give
it to the
murderer
Arafat

7. The Lebanon War
“There shall surely come a time in the bright future - ויהי
באחרית הימים , when our children and our children’s children
will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning books. לא ישא גוי אל גוי חרב ולא ילמדו עוד
מלחמה״

8. Unique Role
“ Ladies and Gentleman, history is being made
here tonight. This is the first time ever that a wholly
kosher meal under strict rabbinic supervision is being
served in the White House and this is in honor of and
out of respect for, our esteemed guest of honor,
Menachem Begin.”

9. Legacy
“His life was about doing something. Those who
continue to dismiss him repudiate his tactics, yet
take for granted the existence of the state that he
helped create.”
“He understood that to love all of humanity equally is
to love no one intensively.”