" Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. Peace is all of these things and more and more."

Menachem Begin

    Menachem Begin was a Zionist leader that helped establish and govern Israel in its early stages. He was born in Brest-Litovsk, Poland, on August 13, 1913. At an early age, he was involved in the Hashme Hatza'ir Scout Party.  Menachem went to University of Warsaw and was very involved [sometimes violently] with Jewish transactions. Much later, Begin joined the Polish army and was moved to the Middle East. There, he was the head of the National Military Organization, or "Etzel". He worked against British rule and was forced to conceal himself in Tel Aviv. In 1947, Begin held a quiet meeting to describe the viewpoint of his movement with the United Nations Special Commitee.  Menachem Begin went on to write The Revolt and White Nights: The Story of a Prisoner in Russia. 

    On May 17, 1977, Begin was elected as Prime Minister of Israel. During the Six Day War, when Israel and Egypt were fighting, Nasser, the president of Egypt at the time, died from stress and tension.  Menachem Begin won a shared Nobel Peace Prize in 1978; he had signed the first Israeli peace treaty with Egypt.  Anwar al-Sadat, Nassar's successer, also played a big part in the treaty by going to Israel and giving a speech to the Israeli Knesset.  His speech pushed the 1979 Camp David Accords forward, and then a lasting treaty  Sadat won the Nobel Prize in '78 for his peaceful actions.  During the later years of Begin's life, he lived in isolation.  On March 8, 1992, Menachem Begin died; he was 79 years old.

    Menachem Begin was important because he [ and al-Sadat ] helped two waring countries come together in peace.

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