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Commentary
by Dr. Gerhard Falk |
Benjamin
Netanyahu
The former
and future prime minister of Israel was born in Tel Aviv on October 21, 1949. He
grew up in Yerusholayim but went to High School in Philadelphia because his
father, renowned historian Benzion Netanyahu, taught in the United States until
1967.
In that
fateful year when the armies of twenty Arab countires attacked Israel in an
effort to slaughter the whole population, the Netanyahu family returned to
Israel.
At once,
Benjamin enlisted in the Israel Defense Force serving in an elite commando unit.
He remained in that unit until 1972, having achieved officer rank. He
participated in a number of anti-terrorist actions including the Beirut airport
operation. He was wounded in the rescue of hostages at Ben Gurion airport and
was then cited for outstanding leadership by the operations commander, the late
Genral Motta Gur. In 1972 Benjamin Netanyahu was discharged from the Israel
Defense Forces.
On October
6, 1973 he entered the service again and helped defend Israel against the sneak
attack on Yom Kippur launched by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Saudi and Iraq. Again,
the hate mongers were defeated. Nevertheless, the self-hater Kissinger arranged
for the surrender of Israeli territory on
both sides of the Suez canal to Egypt, despite the fact that the Israeli army
had crossed the Suez canal and would easlily have captured Cairo had it not been
for Kissinger’s intervention.
After the
Yom Kippur war Benjamin Netanyahu studied in the United States, earning a B.Sc.
in architecture and an M.Sc. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. He then joined RIM industries in Yerusholayim.
Benjamin
Netanyahu founded the Jonathan Institute, a private foundation seeking to study
terrorism. It was named after his brother Jonathan, who was killed while
rescuing the hostages on the French airliner flown by terrorists to Entebbe,
Uganda on July 4, 1976.
In 1982,
“Bibi” became Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington,
D.C. and later served for four years as Israel’s ambassador to the so-called
“United” Nations.
In 1988 he
became a member of the Knesset and Deputy Foreign Minister. In 1991 he became
senior member of the Israeli delegation to the so-called Madrid Peace
Conference. In 1993 he was elected the chairman of the Likud Party.
On May 29,
1996 Benjamin Netanyahu was elected 9th Prime Minister of Israel but
was defeated in the next election in 1999 by Ehud Barak, a great military hero.
Note that all elected Prime Ministers of Israel had a good military record
except Shimon Peres, the only prime minister never elected. Peres inherited the
job from the murdered Yitzhak Rabin because he was foreign minister at that
time. Peres was defeated by Netanyahu.
Most
recently, Bejamin Netanyahu succeeded in gaining the approval of his policies
concerning the terrorists by his party. Prime Minister Sharon lost that party
vote. Therefore, it is probable that Sharon will not be able to win the
chairmanship of his party at the next convention. If that becomes true,
Netanyahu will no doubt be the candidate of the Likud once more and win the
election as well. I predict it.
In view of
his outstanding ability to speak American English, Netanyahu has traveled across
the United States during the past two years speaking on behalf of his country.
He has countered the anti-Jewish hate propaganda of the Arabs and their
supporters, not only in the media but also before Congress. He has written
several books dealing with terrorism and with A Place Among the Nations:
Israel and the World.
No doubt
Benjamin Netanyahu will continue his illustrious career as a great Jew and great
leader in Israel. May he prosper in all his works.
Shalom u’vracha.
Dr. Gerhard Falk is the author of numerous publications,
including Grandparents:
A New Look at the Supporting Generation (with Dr. Ursula A., Falk, 2002),
& Man's
Ascent to Reason (2002).
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