"There is no light at the end of the tunnel; only another tunnel." This is Benny Begin's view of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. He sees Palestinian involvement in the peace process as purely tactical, a way of weakening Israel as a prelude to destroying her. He has prophesied doom in relation to every agreement in which Israel has undertaken to withdraw from territory, and claims Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat works hand in glove with the violently anti-Israel Hamas movement.
Irony
There is irony in this. In the peace treaty with Egypt, Benny Begin's father Menahem Begin set the precedent of trading land for peace, and also started the ball rolling which came to rest in Oslo, when, in that same treaty, he promised autonomy for the Palestinians. Now Benny Begin has left the Likud movement his father nurtured because he feels that, in going along with the Oslo process, it has deserted its principles.
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Dr. Ze'ev Benjamin Begin was born in Jerusalem in 1943. He is the son of the late Prime Minister Menahem Begin. Dr. Begin is married and has six children, and lives in Jerusalem.
Education
B.Sc and M.Sc, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ph.D in Geology, Colorado State University
Military Career
Armored Corps 1960-3
Voluntary military service 1975-6
Scientific Career
Geological Survey of Israel, 1965-88.
Became head of the Environmental Geology and Hydrology Division, the Mapping, Marine Geology and the Computer Center Division.
Head of the College of Judea and Samaria Research Institute since 1989.
Political Career
Knesset Member since 1988.
Chairman, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee's Sub-Committee on National Defense Policy 1988-92
Member, Knesset Committee on Constitution, Law and Justice, 1988-92
Member, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee since 1992
Minister of Science, 1996-97.
Begin resigned from the government in January 1997, following the signing of the Hebron Agreement, which confirmed Palestinian Authority control of most of Hebron and provided for further Israeli territorial concessions.
Spin Doctors
Presumably above that kind of thing.
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Lonely prophet
Begin has a reputation for incorruptibility, fairness in debate, and punctilious adherence to the rules of the democratic game. He resigned from the government as soon as it deviated from the line he represents. His manners are formal, his Hebrew very correct and rather high-flown, but, with his percussive style, Begin is an effective speaker, and his patent sincerity commands respect.
Begin is not considered a likely prime minister. His votes will presumably come from those wishing to register a protest against the collapse of right-wing ideology, and they are not all that many. Nor does it seem feasible for him to join any coalition, since, with greater or lesser enthusiasm, both Likud and Labor are committed to the peace process. Begin has chosen the lonely path of the prophet in the wilderness.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on February 17, 1999