Ezer Weizman

Ezer Weizman (born June 15, 1924 in Tel Aviv) was the seventh President of the State of Israel (1993-2000). Ezer Weizman is a nephew of Chaim Weizmann, Israel's first president.

Contents

1 Military career 2 Political career 3 Presidential term 4 Personal info 5 Reference

Military career

Ezer Weizman was a combat pilot . He received his training in the British Army which he joined in 1942 in order to help the British overcome the Nazis. He served as a truck driver in the Western Desert campaigns (Egypt and Libya), and in 1943 he joined the British Royal Air Force (R.A.F.) and attended aviation school in Rhodesia. He served with the R.A.F. in India in early 1944. During 1944-1946 he was a member of the Etzel (Irgun Zva'i Le'umi ) in Isreal. Between 1946 and 1947 he studied aeronautics in England. During the 1948 Israeli War of Independence he served as a pilot for the Haganah, and is acknowledged as being the "Father" of the development of the Israeli Air Force. He was the commander of the Negev Air Squadron near Nir-Am, and he led air strikes against Egyptian troops near Ashdod. In 1948 he flew Messerschmidt airplanes from Czechoslovakia to Israel to bolster the fledging Israeli air force. On Jan. 7, 1949 he shot down an Egyptian Spitfire. After the establishment of the state of Israel, Weizman joined the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF or "Zahal") and served as the Chief of Operations on the General Staff.

Weizman learned how to fly warplanes such as Czechoslovakian versions of the Messerschmitt and the Supermarine Spitfire. He still owns an active warplane - the Black Spitfire - which is preserved in flight condition in the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hatzerim , Beer Sheva.

In 1951 he attended the R.A.F. Command and Staff College in England. Upon his return he became commander of the first Israeli air force unit flying "Meteor" jets.

He served as the commander of the Israeli Air Force between 1958 to 1966, and later served as deputy of the General Chief of Staff. Major General Weizman earned high credit for his contribution as the Chief of Operations of the IDF in Israel's overwhelming victory over Arab forces during the Six Day War of June 1967. He directed the early morning, surprise air attacks against the Egyptian air bases -- which resulted in giving the Israelis almost total air superiority over the Sinai battlefields.

Although he became the IDF's Deputy Chief of Staff in 1966, he retired from military service in 1969 after he understood he would not be appointed as Chief of Staff -- the highest military position.

Political career

After his retirement from the army he joined Gahal party ("Gush Herut Liberalim", later became the Likud) and served as Minister of Transportation in Levi Eshkol's national unity government until Gahal left the coalition in 1970. He lead Gahal-Herut up to 1972 and then left the party. He returned to Herut on 1976 and in 1977 served as Defence Minister in Menachem Begin's government. During his time, Israel launched Litani Operation against PLO terrorists in south Lebanon and initiated the development of the IAI Lavi fighter. Weizman was of the promotors of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty with Anwar Sadat. In this time he became dovish.

In May 1980 he quit the government. He considered to establish a new party with Moshe Dayan and hence was kicked out from Herut. Between 1980-1984 Weizman turned to business.

In 1984 Weizman established a new party called "Yachad", which won 3 seats in the 11th Assembly of the Knesset. Weizman and Yachad joined a national unity government in which Shimon Peres and Itzhak Shamir served as prime ministers in rotation. In October, 1986, Weizman's Yachad joined the Israeli Labor Party after Mapam and Yossi Sarid left it.

Presidential term

He started his term on May 13, 1993. His political sayings earned him a lot of critics, but didn't damage his public support.

During Weizman's term, Israel suffered from terrorist attacks by Hizbullah and Hamas. Weizman visited all the bereaved families and victims of terror attacks. He attended hospitals and cheered the wounded.

In an attempt to chill out the peace process with the Palestinians, in 1996 Weizman invited Yasser Arafat to a private visit in his house in Caesaria. Weizman supported withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria, and was criticized for that by the right wing parties.

At the end of 1999, newspapers published that Weizman received large amounts of money from businessmen, without reporting it to the proper authorities (the government legal adviser). The public criticism following this forced Weizman to resign from office.

Weizman's resignation took hold on July 13, 2000.

Personal info

Married to Reuma Schawtz. Has 2 children: Saul and Michal. Saul was badly injured in the Suez Canal at the War of Attrition, and in 1991 he was killed with his wife in a car accident. They were buried in Or Akiva.

Reference

"Generals of Israel", ed. Moshe Ben Shaul, Hadar Publishing, Tel-Aviv, 1968.