Menachem Begin

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

In the following trilogy, illustrator Richard Codor, Rabbi David Geffen and Judge Steve Adler share their story of the Israeli-Egyptian Bird of Peace.

The issue of Jerusalem at the last minute nearly capsized the entire peace agreement with Egypt at Camp David over 40 years ago.

I was amazed by the courage and daring of our prime minister, the government, and the leadership of the army to take such a brave action.

The Camp David Accords are remembered positively as the first truly successful peace negotiation between Israel and an Arab nation.

Ever since the November 1928 White Paper, the blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, among other customs, had been prohibited at the Western Wall — Much to the chagrin of the Irgun.

Begin served as the leader of the Irgun militia in Mandatory Palestine before going on to form the opposition in the Knesset and, finally, becoming prime minister and changing Israel forever.

I thought I was driving on Israel's highways to work when I realized I had accidentally put in Ashkelon instead of Jerusalem. After freaking out, the only thing to was laugh.

He sat in his wheelchair (which he now needed as a result of a hip operation), looking not like a charismatic, strong prime minister, but as a frail and vulnerable elderly man.

Tamano-Shata was chosen as the first recipient of the prize for her actions in the Knesset, promoting the very same social justice, equality and fight against discrimination that Begin did.