Binyamin Netanyahu

Born	October 21, 1949 Tel Aviv, Israel
Died
Title	9th Prime Minister of Israel
Salary
Term	June, 1996 - July, 1999
Predecessor	Shimon Peres
Successor	Ehud Barak
Political party	Likud
Religion
Spouse	Sarah Netanyahu
Children
Website:

Benjamin Netanyahu ▶ (help· info) (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ (without niqqud: בנימין נתניהו), Hebrew transliteration written in English: Binyamin Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi) (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) was the 9th Prime Minister of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ... â–¶ (help· info) (Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן פֶּרֶס without Niqqud: שמעון פרס) (born Shimon Perske on August 16, 1923 in Poland, and immigrated with his family to Israel in 1934), is an Israeli politician, who was a member of the Labour Party until December 2005. ... Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born February 12th, 1942, in Mishmar HaSharon kibbutz, then British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli politician and was the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a right-wing political party in Israel. ... Image File history File links He-Benjamin_Netanyahu. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... In Hebrew orthography, Niqqud or Nikkud (Standard Hebrew נִקּוּד, Biblical Hebrew נְקֻדּוֹת, Tiberian Hebrew vowels) is the system of diacritical vowel points (or vowel marks) in the Hebrew alphabet. ... October 21 is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 71 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ...

Leader of the conservative Likud party, he was Prime Minister from June, 1996 to July, 1999. He is the first (and to date only) Prime Minister of Israel to be born after the creation of the state. He was Finance Minister of Israel until August 9, 2005, when his resignation letter came into force. He resigned in protest of the Gaza Disengagement Plan advocated by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu retook the Likud leadership on December 20th, 2005. Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a right-wing political party in Israel. ... The Prime Minister of Israel (Hebrew: ראש הממשלה, Rosh HaMemshala, lit. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A map illustrating the four phases of the Gaza disengagement plan. ... For more detail of Sharons recent illness, see Illnesses of Ariel Sharon; for an overview, see Health problems. ...

Family and personal background

Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv, to Zila and Ben-Zion Netanyahu. Netanyahu's father is a professor of Jewish history and a former editor of the Hebrew Encyclopedia. His elder brother Yonatan, who was killed during Operation Entebbe in 1976, is considered an Israeli war hero. His younger brother Iddo is a radiologist and writer. All three brothers served in the Sayeret Matkal. Netanyahu speaks English with an American accent and most people would assume that he is a native speaker of English. When Binyamin Netanyahu was 14 years old, his family moved to the United States and settled in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, where he graduated from Cheltenham High School. He holds a BS in Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and has studied political science at Harvard and MIT. After graduate school, Netanyahu emigrated back to Israel, although no one in his immediate family is known to hold U.S. citizenship. Netanyahu was married twice before, and has a daughter, Noa, from his first marriage. He is married to his third wife, Sarah, with whom he has two children. Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... A professor (Latin: one who publicly professes to be an expert) (or prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... Jonathan Netanyahu, known in Hebrew as Yonatan Yoni Netanyahu (Hebrew:יונתן נתניהו) (March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an Israeli war hero. ... Entebbe Airport, Uganda, scene of Operation Entebbe Operation Entebbe took place on the night of July 3 and early morning of July 4, 1976. ... This list of notable war heroes does not make judgements about what constitutes true heroism, but rather acknowledges the fact that the term is normally used to designate anyone serving a miltary role in time of hostilities, who is treated as an outstanding example of honorable service by their chain... Dr. Iddo Netanyahu (b. ... Sayeret Matkal (Hebrew: סיירת מטכל - General Staff Reconnaissance unit) is the elite special forces unit of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF). ... Cheltenham Township is a township located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a university located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is one of the worlds leading research institutions in science and technology, as well as in numerous other fields, including management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ... The MIT Sloan School of Management is one of the five schools of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT Sloan is one of the worlds leading business schools, conducting research and teaching in finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, strategic management, economics, organizational behavior, operations management, supply... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

After a brief career in business, Netanyahu was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington in 1982. Subsequently, he became Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, serving from 1984 to 1988. He was elected to the Knesset in 1988 and served in the governments led by Yitzhak Shamir from 1988 to 1992. Shamir retired from politics shortly after Likud's defeat in the 1992 elections. In 1993, for the first time the party held a primary election to select its leader, and Netanyahu was victorious, defeating Binyamin Ze'ev Begin, son of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and veteran politician David Levy. (Ariel Sharon initially sought the Likud leadership as well, but quickly withdrew when it was evident that he was attracting minimal support.) Main articles: League of Nations and History of the United Nations The term United Nations was coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II, to refer to the Allies. ... The Knesset (כנסת, Hebrew for assembly) is the Parliament of Israel. ... ▶ (help· info) (Hebrew יִצְחָק שָׁמִיר) (born October 15, 1915) was Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992. ... Menachem Begin on the front cover of TIME 1982. ... David H. Levy is an American astronomer. ... For more detail of Sharons recent illness, see Illnesses of Ariel Sharon; for an overview, see Health problems. ...

Prime minister (1996-1999)

In 1996, for the first time Israelis chose their Prime Minister directly. Netanyahu was elected in 1996 after a wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians. Shimon Peres, who had succeeded the assassinated Labor Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was initially favored in the polls, but could not stop the terror attacks and public faith in him decreased rapidly. On March 3 and 4, 1996, Palestinian terrorists carried out two lethal suicide bombings in which 32 Israeli citizens were killed. Those two attacks were the main catalyst in the downfall of Peres, who eventually lost the election due to his inability to stop attacks against Israelis. Unlike Peres, Netanyahu did not trust Yasser Arafat and conditioned any progress at the peace process on the Palestinian Authority fulfilling its obligations - mainly fighting terrorism. His campaign slogan was "Netanyahu - making a safe peace". ▶ (help· info) (Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן פֶּרֶס without Niqqud: שמעון פרס) (born Shimon Perske on August 16, 1923 in Poland, and immigrated with his family to Israel in 1934), is an Israeli politician, who was a member of the Labour Party until December 2005. ... ▶ (help· info) (or Yitschak Rabin) (or Yitzchak Rabin) (יצחק רבין in Hebrew), (March 1, 1922 – November 4, 1995) was an Israeli politician and general. ... A suicide bombing is an attack using a bomb in which the individual(s) carrying the explosive materials composing the bomb intend(s) and expect(s) to die upon detonation (see suicide). ... Many acts of violence and acts of terrorism were committed by individuals, groups and employees of the Palestinian National Authority against Israeli civilians in the last 4 years, since the failure of the Camp David talks in the summer of 2000. ... Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات‎) (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known by the kunya Abu `Ammar (أبو عمّار), was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004); President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) (1993–2004); and a... The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ...

Perhaps due to his American education, Netanyahu hired American right-wing political operative Arthur Finkelstein to run his campaign. Although the American style of sound bites and sharp attacks elicited harsh criticism from inside Israel, it proved effective and Netanyahu's Likud Party took control. In 1999, Ehud Barak would choose a similar style to challenge Netanyahu by bringing in Bill Clinton's former campaign manager, James Carville, as well as American consultant Bob Shrum and pollster Stanley Greenberg. Arthur J. Finkelstein (born 1946) is a Republican political operative. ... Likud party logo Likud or ליכוד literally means consolidation. ... Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born February 12th, 1942, in Mishmar HaSharon kibbutz, then British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli politician and was the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... James Carville (born October 25, 1944), is an American political consultant, commentator and pundit. ... Robert M. Bob Shrum, (born 1943) is a Democratic political consultant. ... Stanley Bernard Greenberg (born May 10, 1945) is a leading Democratic pollster and political strategist who has advised the campaigns of the Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry, as well as hundreds of other candidates and organizations in the United States and around the world. ...

As Prime Minister, Netanyahu negotiated with Yasser Arafat in the form of the Wye River Accords (1998). While Netanyahu's approach to the peace negotiations was popular, some accused him of trying to stall any progress. Yasser Arafat (Arabic: ياسر عرفات‎) (August 4 or August 24, 1929 – November 11, 2004), born Mohammed Abdel-Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini (محمد عبد الرؤوف القدوة الحسيني) and also known by the kunya Abu `Ammar (أبو عمّار), was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (1969–2004); President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) (1993–2004); and a... The Wye River Memorandum was a political agreement negotiated to implement the earlier Interim Agreement of 28 September, 1995 brokered by the United States between Israel and the Palestine Authority completed on October 23, 1998. ...

"If they give - they'll get. If they don't give - they won't get".

"יתנו - יקבלו. לא יתנו - לא יקבלו"

No progress was made in peace talks with the Palestinians, and Netanyahu failed to implement the agreed steps of the Oslo Accords. In 1996, Netanyahu and Jerusalem's mayor Ehud Olmert decided to open an exit for the Western Wall tunnel. This sparked three days of riots by Palestinians, resulting in about a dozen Israelis and a hundred Palestinians being killed. Jerusalem Municipal Emblem Jerusalem (31°46′N 35°14′E; Hebrew: ▶ (help· info); Yerushalayim; Greek Ιεροσόλυμα; Arabic: ▶ (help· info) al-Quds; (alternative Arabic found in Bible translations: أُورْشَلِيم Urshalim); see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city. ... Ehud Olmert, 2005 (Antônio Milena/ABr) Ehud Olmert (Hebrew: אהוד אולמרט; his last name is also pronounced as Ulmert; born September 30, 1945) is the current Acting Prime Minister of Israel. ... Western Wall by night The Western Wall (Hebrew: הכותל המערבי HaKotel HaMaaravi), or simply The Kotel, is a retaining wall from the time of the Second Temple. ...

Netanyahu was opposed by the political left wing in Israel and also lost support from the right because of his concessions to the Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere and due to his negotiations with Arafat generally. After a long chain of scandals (including gossip regarding his marriage) and an investigation opened against him on charges of corruption, Netanyahu lost favor with the Israeli public. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms that refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially but not exclusively in the American sense of the word... Hebron (Arabic ▶ (help· info) al-Ḫalīl; Hebrew ▶ (help· info), Standard Hebrew Ḥevron, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥeḇrôn: derived from the word friend) is a town in the southern West Bank of around 130,000 Palestinians and 500 Israeli settlers. ...

After being defeated by Ehud Barak in the 1999 Israeli general elections, Netanyahu temporarily retired from politics. Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born February 12th, 1942, in Mishmar HaSharon kibbutz, then British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli politician and was the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. ...

Political activity after 2000

Benjamin Netanyahu, 2003

In 2002, after the Israeli Labor party left power and vacated the position of foreign minister, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon appointed Netanyahu as Foreign Minister. Netanyahu challenged Sharon for the leadership of the Likud party, but failed to oust Sharon. After the 2003 elections, Netanyahu accepted the post of Finance Minister in a newly formed Sharon coalition. Netanyahu did not support the concept of a future Palestinian state, though on two occasions in 2001, he indicated willingness to consider the idea [1]. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Labour (העבודה HaAvoda) is an Israeli political party. ... For more detail of Sharons recent illness, see Illnesses of Ariel Sharon; for an overview, see Health problems. ... Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a right-wing political party in Israel. ...

As Finance Minister, Netanyahu undertook an economic plan in order to restore Israel's economy from its low point during the al-Aqsa Intifada. The plan involved a move toward more liberalized markets, although it had been seen by many opponents as controversial. Netanyahu succeeded to pass several long-in-the-queue reforms, including an important reform in the banking system that followed with a significant increase in the GDP growth rate. The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... In economics and politics, a free market (rel. ...

Netanyahu threatened to resign in 2004 unless the Gaza pullout plan was put to a referendum, but later lifted the ultimatum. He submitted his resignation letter on August 7, 2005, shortly before the Israeli cabinet voted 17 to 5 to approve the initial phase of withdrawals of the Gaza Disengagement Plan. Netanyahu's resignation went into effect August 9, 2005, two days after he submitted his letter. The Gaza Disengagement Plan describes the move to withdraw all Jewish Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip unilaterally as soon as possible, lead by Ariel Sharon. ...

Following the withdrawal of Ariel Sharon from the Likud, Netanyahu was one of several candidates who vied for the Likud leadership. His most recent attempt prior to this was in September, 2005 when he tried to hold early primaries for the position of the head of the Likud party, while the party is still holding the office of Prime Minister - thus effectively pushing Ariel Sharon out of office. The party rejected this initiative. Netanyahu retook the leadership on December 20, 2005 with 47% of the primary vote. Likud (Hebrew: ליכוד, literally means consolidation) is a right-wing political party in Israel. ...

Books and articles

Books:

• A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations (Warner Books, 2000) ISBN 0446523062
• Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic And International Terrorism (Diane Pub Co, 1995) ISBN 0788155148
• A Place Among the Nations (Bantam, 1993) ISBN 0553089749
• Terrorism: How the West Can Win (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1986) ISBN 0374273421

Articles:

• "On Terrorism"

References

• Clinton, Bill (2005). My Life. Vintage. ISBN 140003003X.

External links

• Biography of Benjamin Netanyahu at Zionism and Israel Information Center Biography Section
• Website of supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu: Hebrew English
• Benjamin Netanyahu on the definition of terror (BBC)(5 min.)
• Netanyahu: Pullout will worsen Israel's security The Jerusalem Post, August 5, 2005