Tonight, at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, in the presence of President Yitzhak Herzog and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of the sixth Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. But this will not be another ceremony,
Since his death, one can observe a fascinating issue involving his character: Begin has become from the moderator of our country’s leaders no less than a “standard character” to the proper conduct of national leadership;
To the one who gives legitimacy to ideas, values and parties;
To one who overshadows any leader with the longing he produces, especially in the measure of proper behavior: In almost every survey we produce around an occasional crisis the answer that arises is: "One should behave the way Begin would have behaved."
But in his life he was due to an illegitimate figure: as head of the Irgun he was the father of the "retirees" camp - he and his colleagues were portrayed as those who sabotaged the efforts of the Jewish Agency, Mapai, the Haganah and the Palmach in favor of establishing the state.
The head of Liberty was portrayed as a provocateur, who should not have been seen as part of the concept of "statehood": the leader of "Altalena" - a ship in a Hollywood-Soviet production created around the organized myth designed to present .
As Prime Minister, Begin was branded by someone who is not dangerous to deal with security issues: firstly by presenting the destruction of the Iraqi reactor as an act carried out in favor of winning the election, and secondly by presenting the war in Lebanon - a swamp of swamp Bloodthirsty militarist.
Apparently there was no less suitable candidate than Menachem Begin to become identified as the ultimate state leader.
But today, when a public figure wants to produce validity in his words - a Supreme Court justice or a General Staff officer, someone who desires to promote the willingness to train hearts for territorial compromise or who is interested in promoting the need to hold on to the homeland while mentioning the oath that there will be "many more teachers" - recruits Begin.
Every quote, column or article he writes is a fertile ground for interpretation and appropriation.
The highlight was in the last election - when more than one party chose to present itself as the "natural" attraction of the late prime minister.
How did Begin - that the term "statehood" was created just so as not to contain it - become the one who himself expresses and represents statehood so clearly, to the father of the nation, especially emotionally?
This will still need to be investigated, but from an initial and not too risky gamble I would argue: If I had to sketch Begin's room as a teenager, I would place a poster over his desk with the caption "Do the right thing."
Begin used to do what he saw as the right thing to do.
Even if you did not agree with him, you knew that was what motivated him.
True historical-national, not political.
It was right for him to oust the British from the Land of Israel - even if they fought the Nazis - which was supposed to complicate the story?
He approached the craft without hesitation.
After all, the goal is to establish a state.
Is it right for him to bomb the reactor in Iraq, even if Shimon Peres from the opposition and his tie-dyed friends in Paris get angry?
What to consider - diplomatic crises are fleeting.
Is it right to expel the PLO from Lebanon, while absorbing local and international murderous criticism and especially - while commanding bitter and difficult battles? This is the role of an army in a sovereign state: protecting civilian peace at the painful cost of risking soldiers.
All of these are just examples of a series of difficult decisions, some of which hurt Begin in the immediate sense - but turned out to be glorious and courageous after years, when he was no longer alive.
It is not for nothing that Begin is the man he is missed.
In the days when leaders decide according to tomorrow's polls - this is a leader who knew that only for the sake of the "order of history" would he rule anything.
Were we wrong?
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