MENACHEM BEGIN: PEACE & WAR

Israel, 2020, 87 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Levi Zini.

This is a documentary film, an edited version of a television series, 3 x 50 minutes episodes, on the sixth Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. It presupposes some knowledge of Begin but, for those not familiar with him or this part of Israeli history, there are some explanations and background.

While the film opens with Begin’s campaign for re-election in 1981, criticisms by the Labor leader, Shimon Peres, and the bombing of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor (with footage), the film moves backwards and forwards in time.

Begin had been in power in Israel for almost 3 decades, in opposition, with the Herut, Freedom party, a right-wing group – which antagonised Israel’s Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion. However, by 1977, Begin became Prime Minister of Israel.

The documentary does fill in some background of Begin’s and life, his origins in Brest (in today’s Belarus), his studies at the University of Warsaw, escape in the early years of the war to Vilnius, military service, transfer to Palestine. There is some background to his anti-British stances in Palestine, the tactics of “freedom fighters� rather than “terrorists� and the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

The documentary gives a great deal of attention to Begin’s association with former general from the Six Day War, Moshe Dayan, his defence Minister, and the meetings sponsored by Jimmy Carter at Camp David, negotiations (sometimes through the Romanian dictator, Ceasceau) and the meetings with Egyptian leader, Anwar Sadat. There is a great deal of footage, and also the visit of Sadat to Israel. While there is agreement, Begin did not implement some of the agreement as hoped for.

And, the enemy emerges in the form of Yasser Arafat.

The film does not focus on the end of Begin’s career, his depression with the death of his wife, his retiring from public life, his final years of seclusion until his death.