Menachem Begin A New Israel Jewish History Lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson 

One of the Great Prime Ministers of Israel, Menachem Begin. From Blessed memory!

Another excellent lecture on Jewish history by Prof. Abramson; very good for those interested in Israeli history. Interesting anecdote: having been educated at the University of Warsaw, Begin was considered to be the "most Polish" of the Israeli PMs, for his traditional Polish gestures such as kissing women on the hands. Begin was fond of quoting Poland's national poet Adam Mickiewicz at length. Begin referred to Mickiewicz as a "Jewish poet". Certainly, Mickiewicz was a philo-Semite who advocated both Poles and Jews fighting for Polish independence in the 19th century (unlike the anti-Semitic nationalist Endeks of the 20th century), organized a Jewish legion in the Crimean War with his Franco-Jewish friend Armand Levy, had a Jewish-Frankist wife, and referred to Jews as "elder brothers" of Christians (Pope John Paul II would many years later use this same phrase, although despite the obviously positive intentions the phrase has a negative connotation among some Jews because of the elder brother Esau). However, some scholars believe that Mickiewicz's mother came from a converted Frankist family (one of the main arguments in favor of this hypothesis is that her maiden name was Majewska, a common name among Polish converts from Judaism to Christianity), although there is no evidence that either proves or disproves that Mickiewicz's mother was Jewish. In any case, just thought I'd share an interesting fact about Begin.

This lecture, and others about the major figures of Israeli history, is extremely helpful for anyone grappling with issues surrounding modern Israel. Highly recommended for (the sadly too few) Americans who are interested in an informed and thoughtful approach to this important part of the world.

Thank you so much, Im loving these lectures. Please add more

Waoo, that Gentleman who saw the altalena!, that is amazing!

Excellent! Gotta hear that lecture again. Thank you for making those complex subjects simpler.

Informative lecture.

He looks like the leader of Poland when I was a small boy called gererał Jaruselski until 1991. Shalom ♥️☮🇺🇸

maybe the woman at

What about lectures on Shamir or Stern and LEHi

Begin joined Polish army (called Anders Army) which never fought on the Eastern Front. Anders Army throught Soviet Union and Persia move to fought on the the Western Side. A litlle correction:)

Rabin was the commander on the beach when Hagana fired on the Altalena

begin succeeded in 1976 because arik sharon built the likud coalition....

I note that the people he speaks about are EUROPEANS ! Not from the middle east in any way shape or form . Is yiidish cemetic ? What blood line links exist to any area of Palestine ?