biography
pronunciation:
[diyan]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1915–81)
|
| biography:
| Israeli general and statesman, born in Deganya, Palestine. During the 1930s he joined the illegal Jewish defence organization, Haganah, and was imprisoned by the British (1939–41), then released to fight with the Allies in World War 2 (when he lost his left eye, thereafter wearing his distinctive black eye patch). He became chief-of-staff (1953–8), joined the Knesset as a Labour member in 1959, but left the Labour Party in 1966 to set up the Rafi Party with Ben-Gurion. He won acclaim as defence minister in 1967 when Israeli forces defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six Day War, and he himself became a symbol of Israeli dash and courage. As foreign minister, he participated in negotiations over a peace treaty with Egypt (1977). He resigned from the Begin government in 1979, and launched a new centre party in 1981. |
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