Rehavam "Gandhi" Ze'evi (help·info) (Hebrew: רחבעם "גנדי" זאבי‎, born 20 June 1926, died 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general, politician and historian who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Elections for the twelfth Knesset were held in Israel on 1 November 1988 Elections for the thirteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 23 June, 1992. Elections for the fourteenth Knesset were held in Israel alongside the first ever election for Prime Minister on 29 May, 1996. The Elections for the 15th Knesset were held on 17 May 1999 alongside simultaneous elections for Prime Minister. The National Union (האיחוד הלאומי HaIhud HaLeumi) is a right wing political party in Israel and consists of an alliance of Moledet (מולדת Homeland) is a small Right-wing political party in Israel. The Tourism Minister of Israel (שר התיירות Sar HaTayarut) is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and a relatively minor position in the A Minister without Portfolio is either a Government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person Moledet (מולדת Homeland) is a small Right-wing political party in Israel. He was assassinated by Hamdi Quran of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), becoming the only Israeli politician to be assassinated during the Al-Aqsa intifada. AssassiNation is the sixth album by Krisiun, released in 2006 on Century Media. Hamdi Quran is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP) ( Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Tahrīr

Early life and military career

Rehavam Ze'evi was born in 1926 in Jerusalem. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the He joined the Palmach in 1942, and served in the Israeli Defence Forces after the creation of Israel. The Palmach ( Hebrew: פלמ"ח an acronym for Plugot Maḥatz (Hebrew פלוגות מחץ Strike Companies) was the regular fighting force The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit In May 15, 1948 he was a platoon leader in the lost battle of Malkiyah. His task was to block, with 30 men, the local Arabs who came to help the Lebanese army attack. One of the soldiers from that battle described the view when the sun rose and all the mountain in front of them was black with Arabs. Ze'evi succeeded in his task, but the battle was lost. Instead of destroying the first battalion of the Palmach, that retreated with many wounded, the Lebanese army went after Ze'evi's unit. Ze'evi left a wounded light machine gunner to cover a retreat, took all the weapons and the other wounded people, but left the bodies of the dead behind. From 1964 to 1968 he carried out the duties of the Chief of the Department of Staff in the Israeli General staff. The next 5 years he served as the Commander of the Central Military District (Hebrew: אלוף פיקוד המרכז). He retired in September 1973, only to rejoin the army at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War (October 6, 1973). The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War (מלחמת יום הכיפורים transliterated: Milkhemet Yom HaKipurim or מלחמת יום A close friend of IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar, he was appointed "Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff" and was rarely away from Elazar's side during the Yom Kippur War. Ze'evi was a highly efficient staff officer, in contrast to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Israel Tal, and encroached somewhat into the latter's duties during the war. Ze'evi then served for several more months as the Chief of the Department of Staff. He finally retired, with the rank of major-general (אלוף) in 1974.

Political career

The Eretz Yisrael Museum became very successful at the time of Ze'evi

In 1974 he became Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's consultant on combatting terrorism. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and is the most powerful political officer in Israel (the President of Israel being a titular figurehead The following year he was appointed as the prime minister's adviser on matters of intelligence. Ze'evi resigned from this position in 1977, when Likud's Menachem Begin became prime minister. (מְנַחֵם בְּגִין Mieczysław Biegun Менахем Вольфович Бегин 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992 was the sixth prime minister of the State of Israel In 1981, Ze'evi was appointed the director of the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel-Aviv. The Eretz Israel Museum was established in 1953 in Ramat Aviv, Israel. Tel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל ־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ تل أبيب Tal ʾAbīb) (usually Tel Aviv) is the second-largest city in Israel In 1987, he co-edited a series of books describing various aspects of the Land of Israel, based on artifacts from the museum. For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is Ze'evi is famous for having one the largest collection of books about Israel and its history.

In 1988, Ze'evi established Moledet (Homeland). His movement's platform consisted mainly in the population transfer of Palestinian Arabs from Israel (including the West Bank and Gaza Strip) to the neighboring Arab countries. Population transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. Ze'evi was greatly disappointed by the Madrid Conference of 1991, and consequently withdrew from the Likud government of Yitzhak Shamir. The Madrid Conference was hosted by the government of Spain and co-sponsored by the USA and the USSR Likud (ליכוד lit Consolidation) is the major centre-right political party in Israel. (יִצְחָק שָׁמִיר born Icchak Jaziernicki on 15 October 1915 was Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992 He stayed in opposition for the following ten years. He disagreed strongly with the Labour governments of 1992-1996 (led by Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres) and 1999-2001 (Ehud Barak), however, he looked favourably on the Netanyahu government of 1996-1999 and supported it from the outside. (שמעון פרס born Szymon Perski on August 2 1923, is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Ehud Barak (אֵהוּד בָּרָק born Ehud Brog on 12 February 1942) is an Israeli politician former Prime Minister, and (בִּנְיָמִין "ביבי" נְתַנְיָהוּ Binyamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, born October 21 1949, Tel Aviv) was

In 1999, his Moledet movement united with Herut – The National Movement and Tkuma into a single fraction — the National Union. Herut – The National Movement (חרות – התנועה הלאומית Herut – HaTenoa'a HaLeumit) commonly known as just Herut, is a minor right-wing The National Union (האיחוד הלאומי HaIhud HaLeumi) is a right wing political party in Israel and consists of an alliance of Following the election of Ariel Sharon to Prime Minister in February 2001, Ze'evi joined the governing coalition and was made the tourism minister on March 7, 2001. (אריאל The Tourism Minister of Israel (שר התיירות Sar HaTayarut) is the political head of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism and a relatively minor position in the On October 14 Ze'evi declared that his party would quit the government following the withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces from the Abu-Sneina neighborhood in Hebron. The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit Hebron ( al-Ḫalīl or al-Khalīl, Standard Hebrew: Ḥevron Tiberian Hebrew: Ḥeḇrôn is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south His resignation was to become active on October 17, 2001, at 11 a. m.

Death

Ze'evi was shot in the Jerusalem Hyatt hotel on Mount Scopus on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 by four gunmen. Hyatt is an international brand of hotels within the Global Hyatt Corporation that operates numerous properties Mount Scopus ( Hebrew הַר הַצּוֹפִים ( Har HaTzofim) Arabic جبل المشارف Ǧabal al-Mašārif, He was rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center hospital where he died before 10 a. Hadassah Medical Center (מרכז רפואי הדסה includes two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, m. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine took credit for the killing and stated that it was in revenge for the assassination by Israel of Abu Ali Mustafa, killed by Israel in August that year. Abu Ali Mustafa ( ابو علي مصطفى) (1938 – August 27, 2001) the kunya -style Nom de guerre of Mustafa Alhaj, Israel alleges that Ahmed Saadat ordered Ze'evi's assassination. Ahmad Sa'adat (also transliterated from Arabic as Ahmed Sadat / Saadat, Arabic احمد سعدات(born 1954) is a Palestinian politician Tens of thousands took part in his funeral. A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember

Controversy

Ze'evi publicly advocated the population transfer by agreement of 3. Population transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion 3 million Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza to Arab nations. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. ^[1][2] According to Ze'evi, this could be accomplished by making the lives of Palestinians so miserable they would relocate, by use of military force during wartime, or through an agreement with Arab nations. ^[3] Ze'evi first called for the expulsion speaking to the Moshe Dayan Political and Social Forum in Tel Aviv in July 1987, stating then it would be a voluntary transfer and that it was the only way to make peace with the Arabs. ^[4] After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Ze'evi advocated the expulsion of Palestinians to the east side of the Jordan River, where they could serve as a human shield should the Iraqi Army seek to attack Israel. ^[4]

In a radio interview in July, 2001, Ze'evi claimed that 180,000 Palestinians worked and lived illegally in Israel, then referred to them as "a cancer" and said that "We should get rid of the ones who are not Israeli citizens the same way you get rid of lice"^[5]

Ze'evi believed that Israel's more than 1 million citizens of Arab ethnicities should not be allowed to vote because they do not serve in the army. He also wanted Israel to lay claim to the country Jordan because it historically belonged to the Tribes of Israel - Gad, Reuven, and Menashe, and believed visitors to Israel must speak Hebrew. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. The Tribe of Gad ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height Gad occupied a region to the east of the River Jordan, though the exact location is ambiguous The Tribe of Reuben ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height the territory it occupied was on the immediate east of the Dead Sea, reaching from the The Tribe of Menasheh ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Menasheh also formed the House of Joseph. ^[6]

Binyamin Elon, who has been leading the Moledet party ever since Ze'evi's murder, has argued that Ze'evi did not hate Arabs. Rabbi Binyamin "Benny" Elon (בנימין אלון born 10 November 1954) is an Israeli politician a Member of the Knesset and chairman Moledet (מולדת Homeland) is a small Right-wing political party in Israel. ^[7]

Ze'evi himself often explained, since 1987 when he first announced the transfer plan and onwards, that he only intended to promote voluntary transfer of the Arab population in the West Bank, not forced actions. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Ze'evi believed that this was the only way to promote peace with the Arab nations and to spare further bloodshed. He proposed to provide money incentives for the Palestinians to leave. ^[8]

Diplomatic tension

Ze'evi was also the cause of diplomatic rows. Serving as Minister without Portfolio, he called US President George H. W. Bush an "anti-Semite" during a Cabinet meeting in September 1991. George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12 1924 served as the forty-first President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 ^[4][9] In 1997 he called US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, who is Jewish, a "Jewboy", and challenged him to a fistfight. Martin S Indyk, born July 1, 1951 is a lobbyist and former United States ambassador to Israel. ^[4]

Organized crime allegation

Ze'evi's most significant political rival was Ehud Olmert, elected Prime Minister of Israel in 2006, though their mutual distaste had no connection with their views on state policy. Ehud Olmert (אהוד אולמרט ɛˈhud ˈolmeʁt born September 30, 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel and the former leader The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and is the most powerful political officer in Israel (the President of Israel being a titular figurehead In 1975, the young Olmert called a press conference declaring that he had a list of organized crime figures in the capital that he would recommend for investigation. One was businessman Betzalel Mizrahi, who had been under Ze'evi's command during his military service. Allegations soon included a literal accusation of Ze'evi's protection of Mizrahi and other criminals. Ze'evi sued Olmert for libel. ^[10]

Gandhi Nickname

During his youth, Ze'evi went to school in Givat HaShlosha. Givat HaShlosha (גִּבְעַת הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה lit One night he shaved his head, wrapped a towel round his waist and entered the food hall. The similarity to Mohandas Gandhi earned him Gandhi as his nickname, which stuck with him for the rest of his life. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી moɦən̪d̪äs kəɾəmʧən̪d̪ gän̪d̪ʱi (2 October 1869 – 30 January The nickname is also attributed to a long Arab dress he wore during his underground days in Palmach. ^[11][1]

Legacy

As a soldier, Ze'evi's name was connected to the era in the 1960s-70's known as HaMerdafim (The Incursions/Pursuances). As Commander of the Central Military District, Ze'evi was tasked with defending the new Jordan Valley settlements from PLO guerrilla activities and pacifying the newly occupied Arab-Palestinian population. In the late 1960s Ze'evi formed the elite Sayeret Kharuv, an anti-terror company sized battalion, at the time when IDF Chief of Staff Haim Bar-Lev had begun to focus IDF manpower and budget on armoured tank units, resulting in huge cutbacks in infantry forces. Haim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (חיים בר-לב born Haim Brotzlewsky on 16 November 1924, died 7 May 1994) was a military

Moledet never realized the vision Ze'evi had for the party. Instead of drawing masses away from the centre-right Likud, Ze'evi's party was seen as just another military personality party, just as Shlomtzion (Ariel Sharon), Telem (Moshe Dayan), and Yachad (Ezer Weizman) before it, and Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) and others after it. Shlomtzion ( Hebrew: שלומציון a contraction of Shalom-Zion, or Peace-Zion) was an political party in Israel. (אריאל Telem (תל"ם an acronym for Tenoa'a LeHithadshut Mamlakhtit (Hebrew תנועה להתחדשות ממלכתית lit Moshe Dayan, DSO (משה דיין born 20 May 1915 died 16 October 1981 was an Israeli military leader and politician (עזר ויצמן ( June 15, 1924 - April 24, 2005) was the seventh President of Israel, serving a seven-year term from 1993 to Tzomet (צומת lit Crossroads) is a small Secular, right-wing political party in Israel. Rafael "Raful" Eitan (רפאל "רפול" איתן born 11 January 1929 - 23 November, 2004) was an Israeli The factionalization of Israel's extreme right as a result of small ideological differences was not helped by Ze'evi's defection from Tehiya.

Ze'evi was also known for his concern for Israel's captured or missing soldiers which is the reason he always wore a military identity disc with their names on his neck. ^[12]

In July 2005 the Knesset passed a law to commemorate Ze'evi's memory and educate future generations with his legacy ^[13]. The highway Route 90 is named Gandhi's Road in honour of his service to the region, an honour resented by Palestinian and Bedouin residents of the Valley. Route 90 is the longest road in Israel, at about 480 km and stretches from Metula and the northern border with Lebanon, along the western side of A statue of him is erected in Eilat's promenade, named after Ze'evi. Eilat (Hebrew אילת should not be confused with the nearby kibbutz of Eilot (Hebrew אילות An esplanade is a long open level area usually next to a river or large body of water where people may walk The communal settlement of Merhav Am was also named after him, as was the West Bank settlement Ma'ale Rehav'am. A communal settlement (יישוב קהילתי Yishuv Kehilati) in Israel is type of Cooperative community that in contrast to a Kibbutz or Merhav Am (מרחב עם lit Wide open nation) is a religious communal settlement in the Negev desert in Israel. The West Bank (الضفة الغربية, הגדה המערבית Hagadah Hamaaravit) also referred to in Israel as " Judea and Samaria Israeli settlements are communities inhabited by Israelis in territory that was captured as a result of Jordanian attacks during the 1967 Six-Day War. Ma'ale Rehav'am or Maaleh Rehavam (מעלה רחבעם is an Israeli settlement south of Bethlehem in the West Bank located in the northeastern Judean

Ze'evi has 5 children and has given them all special Jewish-History related names. He named his first son 'Palmach', his second son Sayar 'Binyamin', and his 3 daughters Mesada, Ze'ela and Arava. Benjamin ( in the Book of Genesis, is a son of Jacob, the second (and last son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin Masada ( Hebrew מצדה pronounced Metzada, from מצודה metzuda, "fortress" is the name for a site of ancient Palaces and ^[14] Palmach is also a member of Moledet and competed with Binyamin Elon for the party's leadership. Rabbi Binyamin "Benny" Elon (בנימין אלון born 10 November 1954) is an Israeli politician a Member of the Knesset and chairman

See also

• Arab-Israeli conflict
• History of Israel
• Israel Defense Forces
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• List of assassinated people
• Palestinian political violence
• Politics of Israel
• Zionism
• Assassinations of politicians in Israel's history

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Rehavam Ze'evi: A controversial figure, CNN (April 28, 2002)
2. ^ Rehavam Ze'evi Obituary, The Guardian (October 18, 2001)
3. ^ Israel mints ultranationalist hero, Christian Science Monitor (October 10, 2002)
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "A man who loved his country", Obituary, Jerusalem Post, (October 18, 2001)
5. ^ "Israel's tourism minister calls Palestinians 'lice'", Associated Press (July 2, 2001)
6. ^ Sharon's "guard dog" bares his teeth The Guardian (March 7, 2001)
7. ^ Benny Elon: Ze'evi didn't hate Arabs MSN News, 2 November 2005 (in Hebrew)
8. ^ Special:Rehavam Ze'evi Yedioth Ahronoth (in Hebrew)
9. ^ "Israeli Loan Dispute Turns Ugly; Rightist Calls Bush 'Anti-Semite'", New York Times (September 16, 1991)
10. ^ Avneri, Ariel. The State of Israel (מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael) was established in 1948 after nearly two thousand The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit This is a list of persons who were Assassinated; that is important people who were murdered usually for ideological or political reasons Palestinian political violence or Palestinian terrorism refers to acts of violence committed for political reasons by Palestinians Palestinian groups that support Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the Assassinations of Jewish leaders relating to Israel and Zionism has been a source of anguish and much internal debate between many Jewish groups and communities in Israel The Route. Tel Aviv, 1992. (An in-depth account of the gradual corruption of Israeli governments after the 1977 electoral revolution, includes details of the Ze'evi-Olmert feud).
11. ^ Rechavam (Gandhi) Ze'evi (1926-2001) Knesset biography (retrieved August 8, 2006)
12. ^ Israel separated from Rehavam Ze'evi Yedioth Ahronoth, 18 October 2001 (in Hebrew)
13. ^ Law to commemorate Rehavam Ze'evi, 2005 The Knesset (in Hebrew)
14. ^ Rehavan (Gandhi) Ze'evi MSN News (in Hebrew)

External links

• PM Ariel Sharon's remarks on the 3rd Anniversary of the Assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi z"l an address before the Knesset on October 19, 2004
• Knesset commemorates Ze'evi Jerusalem Post, 2 November 2005
• Guestbook in Memory of Rechavam Zeevi