MY SAY: IN SEARCH OF HEROES

Posted By on March 9th, 2014

Is there a whiff of nostalgia eliciting a renewed interest in Menachem Begin…and now, a forthcoming biography of Zeev Jabotinsky by Hillel Halkin?

Neither Daniel Gordis, author of the splendid biography of Menachem Begin or Hillel Halkin are men of the right. In fact, the Gordis book has blurbs by Avi Shavit and Dennis Ross, more Israel’s antagonists than protagonists. And, you know it must be good because Al Ha’Aretz has alredy panned it.

What accounts for this? I would suggest that there is such a paucity of real heroes in politics today….such a dearth of principles and guts and courage to buck prevailing trends, that one must visit dead heroes. I just read a biography of General Douglas MacArthur – the last American patriot and general who fought for total surrender of an enemy and then was instrumental in the recovery of the enemy which became a modern, successful democracy. The present “nation builders” in the military should read this book as a primer on how to do it.

But back to Menachem Begin. Who were his heroes? They were the settlers of Judea and Samaria who have reclaimed Israel’s patrimony and built the lovely towns in the hills and valleys that look over Israel’s cities and present a bulwark to the ambitions of Israel’s enemies.

I was so happy to read an acknowledgement to my e-pal Yisrael Medad, journalist, commentator and patriotic resident of Shiloh in the Gordis book: Page 251

” Particular  thanks go to my friend and now my teacher Yisrael Medad, Director of Information and Educational Research at the Begin Center.  I have known Yisrael Medad for years, but this project afforded me an opportunity to work with him musch more closely than I ever had. He was unflagging in his support, generous with his prodigious knowledge about Begin, clear about his perspective but understanding that sometimes we did not agree, and was kind enough to read a rough draft of this manuscript and to point out mistakes where he saw them. For his extraordinary friendship I am grateful.”   rsk

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