A World War II fighter pilot, Ezer Weizman led the formation of the Israeli Air Force which played a decisive role in Israel's wars with Arab nations. He left the military and began his political career in 1969, going on to help found the Likud Party, serving as Defence Minister, was closely involved in the Camp David accords and the treaty with Egypt, and advocated negotiations with the Palestinians.
Initially a hawk, Israel-born Weizman made a very public transition to the dove political views, saying Jews had to "share this part of the world" with Arabs. It was his belief that peace, and a strong military, were Israel's strongest defences.
Weizman was a nephew of Israel's first President, Chaim Weizmann, and was himself elected in 1993 on the dovish Labour ticket. His seven years in office led critics to describe him as the most political President of Israel, a largely ceremonial position.
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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
