A Lesson from History.

Menachem Begin presents an instructive example as to how the world really functions. Here is a brief biography of his eventful life.

He rose to prominence as the rather effective leader of Jewish underground military group Irgun during the turbulent decade of 1940s. I was being diplomatic there. Let us not mince words from now.

He was the leader of the "terrorist" organization Irgun, which terrorized the Arabs living in the British mandate of Palestine. The same Irgun which, along with its sister militant group Leh'i, also successfully managed to drive British away with numerous acts of terror.

Some highlights of Begin's commandeering of Irgun are:

July 22, 1946: Bombing of King David Hotel in Jerusalem. This was the base of the British government there. 91 people were killed and the entire wing of the building collapsed.

April 9, 1948: A mixed Irgun and Leh'i force attacked the village of Dier Yassin and massacred more than 100 innocent and peaceful Arabs (they reached a working arrangement with their Jewish neighbors). Some estimates put the number of dead at 250.

July 11 and 12, 1948: Now combined forces of Israeli army enter the Arab city of Lydda and after a period of indiscriminate and cruel shooting, expel the city's Arab inhabitants.

(This last one is included as part of Irgun's work because after the proclamation of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948, many of Irgun terrorists were integrated into the newly formed Israeli Defense Forces.)

These are only a sample of the terror perpetrated by Irgun under the able leadership of our Begin.

Now suppose that you went to sleep in 1948 and woke up in 1977 (in the process breaking the record of Rip Van Winkle). You would find that the former terrorist Menachem Begin was the Prime Minister of Israel, nothing less.

And if you stuck along for another year, you would find that the good Begin was awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

I want to you emphasize for you: PEACE prize.

They say truth is stranger than fiction.

I say that we all are living through a cosmic joke.