29 Years Since the Passing of Menachem Begin, Israel's Sixth Prime Minister Menachem Begin was born in Poland in 1913. As a youth he was very active in the revisionist youth movement, Betar, and climbed up the ranks to become the organization's head in Poland, responsible for nearly 100,000 members. After arriving in the Land of Israel in 1942, he joined the Irgun (Etzel) and immediately made a name for himself with his outspoken ideas and leadership abilities. In 1944 he took command of the Irgun and declared his famous "revolt" against the British forces in Mandatory Palestine. The Irgun's fight against the British is credited by many as one of the leading factors that drove the British out of the Holy Land. After Israel's independence, Begin relinquished control of the Irgun as it merged with the other Jewish paramilitary forces to form the IDF and founded the Herut Party, a party based on the revisionist ideology of his mentor, Ze'ev Jabotinsky. In 1973, Begin united all the right-wing parties under the flagship of the Likud and later won the 1977 elections. As prime minister, Begin signed the Camp David Accords with Egypt, earning the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1981, he authorized the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor (a move that prevented Saddam Hussein from procuring nuclear weapons), and in 1982, oversaw the First Lebanon War. Following the death of his wife Aliza, Begin resigned from office and retired to the seclusion of his home. On March 9, 1992, he suffered a heart attack and passed away. Over 75,000 people attended his funeral. As per his request, Begin was buried on Mount Herzl next to Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani, two underground fighters who were captured and sentenced to death by the British and committed suicide in their prison cells rather than let the British hang them. Source: Im Tirzu v ?? IF YOU LOVE ISRAEL - SHARE NEWSRAEL! ??