Menachem Begin. But for this man, there would be no Israel.

Begin was born on August 16, 1913 in Brest-Litovsk, in a part of Europe that changed populations and borders basically after every war. His parents were religious Jews and Zionists. He was sent to yeshiva for his first seven years of education, but family finances forced him to attend a secular Polish school when he was 14. His Jewish education made a lasting mark on his entire life as he chose to be an observant Jew even though due to circumstances beyond his control, he was thrown into the secular world. Begin was a devoted follower of Zev Jabotinsky, the founder of Revisionist Zionism since his days in the Betar youth group. He graduated from high school and studied at the University of Warsaw, where he honed his speaking skills, which would come in very handy when he entered Israeli politics. Begin could read and write Latin, and could speak and write Yiddish, Polish and English fluently. He served in the Polish army as an English translator. In 1942, Begin was asked to take a position in the Irgun, the National Military Organization, but he turned down the position as he did not want to be a deserter of the Polish army. During this time, his parents were rounded up by the Nazis and later died in death camps.

When the British had the Mandate in Palestine, there was controversy between the Jews and British and, of course, the Arabs. The Jewish people were governed by the Jewish Agency, headed by David Ben-Gurion. The military of the Jewish Agency was known as the Haganah, which means "the defense" in Hebrew. The Haganah was supposed to protect the Jews. In 1931, certain leaders of the Haganah believed that for their own political reasons, the leaders of the Jewish Agency were too timid in defending Jewish interests and lives. These leaders left the Haganah and formed the National Military Organization, called the Irgun Zvi Leume or "Etzel." It is to the Irgun, under the leadership of Menachem Begin, that Israel owes its very existence.

In 1939, with the so-called White Paper exposed, the British broke their promise to the Jews/Zionists that the British-mandated land called "Palestine" would be given to the Jews for a Jewish homeland. The Irgun started attacking British interests as the British were now considered occupiers. However, a truce was declared with the outbreak of World War II. Agreeing that the Nazis were the greater enemy, both the Jews and British agreed to join forces against them. Not surprisingly, the Grand Mufti (the head Arab religious leader) supported the Nazis.

In 1944, Menachem Begin became leader of the Irgun. A fierce Zionist, Begin’s position was that the British were foreign occupiers of the Jewish homeland. After the horrors of the death camps were exposed, the British had no sympathy for the survivors who only wanted to live in peace. Boatloads of Holocaust survivors made their way to the future State of Israel. But when the British caught these vessels, they would board the ships and beat the innocent men, women and children and then send them back to refugee camps. The British would also seize weapons and supplies going to the Jewish Agency for defense against the Arabs who had sworn there would never be a modern State of Israel.

And so, the Irgun basically declared war on the British. Notwithstanding what the history books tell us, however, the Irgun was not a terrorist group. Warnings were always given before an attack. The Irgun would attack British interests, destroying property, not people.

One of the first attacks was on a government office containing records of the Jews in the Mandate. It was guarded by an Arab police officer. He was lured away by a Jewish couple who became intimate in his presence. Then as the officer moved closer to watch the couple they moved further away from the officer building and became more “intimate," he followed. It is said that no one knows what shocked the officer more, what he saw, or the explosion. For while the couple was distracting the officer, Irgun operatives placed explosives in the building and when the officer was far enough away not to be injured, the operatives set the charges.

The most written about attack was the bombing of the King David hotel. The British used the hotel as their base and offices. On July 22, 1946, calls and warnings were made to the British to evacuate the hotel. The British responded, saying basically “No Jew is telling us what to do.” Because the British did not heed the warnings of the Irgun, a bomb detonated, and 91 people died. Again, the British were warned. No terrorist warns his victims. In May 1947, after the British hanged four members of the Irgun, the Irgun broke into the prison and freed 41 of its members. The mighty British were humiliated.

There were some direct and violent conflicts between the British and Begin's Irgun. It was a normal occurrence for the British to beat and torture members of the Irgun who they were able to round up. For the most part, when British soldiers were captured, they were treated so much more humanely.

There were, however, exceptions to the rule. One time, two members of the Irgun were captured and “sentenced” to be whipped. Yes, whipping was the punishment that was meted out by the "civilized" Great Britain. Menachem Begin then ordered the apprehension of two British solders. He sent word that if the members of the Irgun were whipped, the same would happen to the British solders. He then requested a prisoner exchange. The British refused. The members of the Irgun were lashed with whips, and the same was done to their British counterparts.

The second event was a defining moment in the war against the British. Toward the end of the campaign against the Jews, the British captured two Irgun members and sentenced them to death by hanging. By this time, the British knew that the Irgun was a formidable enemy and knew that there would be an attempt at retaliation. The British ordered extra security measures to protect their soldiers and ordered that no solider travel alone and that they go in groups. The British plan did not work, and the Irgun captured two of their men. Begin let it be known that if the members of the Irgun were hanged, so too would the soldiers. The arrogant British ignored Begin's threat and murdered the Irgun boys in their custody. Begin was torn. The soldiers were men doing their job as ordered. Yet, if he did not carry out his threat, he could never again put fear into the British enemy. In what was one of the hardest decisions of his life, he ordered the execution of the soldiers.

It was later said by the British that it was this final act of the Irgun that broke the back and will of the British to maintain their mandate. The British did everything they could to protect their soldiers, yet the Irgun proved themselves to be unstoppable. No one was safe from them if the Irgun deemed them an enemy of the Jewish State. Thus, because of Begin’s decision the British decided to leave Palestine.

It must be pointed out that David Ben-Gurion was an appeaser -- out of the Neville Chamberlain mold. He thought if he appealed to the civil sensibilities of the British, they would somehow agree that the Jews were entitled to their state; that they would stop turning away ships bringing Jews to the Promised Land; that they would stop beating the Jews; that they would stop torturing the Jewish freedom fighters; that they would stop stopping weapons and supplies from being delivered to the Jews; that they would all of a sudden realize they made a mistake and would welcome a Jewish State with open arms. If Begin had not followed his beliefs in the face of overwhelming odds, being a wanted man, and taking on the world power Great Britain, there is no doubt that Begin's political adversary Ben-Gurion would have sold out the Jewish State to the British, and the British would be there to this very day. Be sure to read the story of the Irgun ship, the Altalena, that was attacked by the Haganah.

Because of the bravery and leadership of Begin, in June of 1948 when the British left, Israel was able to declare itself a free nation and the Jewish homeland. Freedom is not free. Some Jews like Ben-Gurion could not understand that independence is not won by asking for it. Begin and his Irgun fought for Israeli freedom and independence. More than any other man, we have Menachem Begin to thank for the free and independent Israel.

Even though he was constantly vilified by Ben-Gurion and his toadies, Begin founded the Likud party and eventually became the first Likud member to ascend to the office of Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Regrettably, Begin proved vulnerable to coercion from the United States to make an one-sided "peace" deal with Israel's vanquished foe Egypt, which gave away the oil rich Sinai Peninsula that Israel had victoriously reclaimed in the Six Day War - thereby setting the horrific precedent of land for peace. Despite a lackluster record as Prime Minister, Begin's brilliant military career and legacy as one of Israel's greatest leaders stand on their own.