"Ani lo yachol yoter," he said. “I cannot go on.”
It's an appropriate day to remember one of Israel's leaders, who told his colleagues that he knew it was time.
Plenty of ink has already been spilled on President Joe Biden’s decision not to stand for re-election, what his six months remaining in office might mean for his Israel policy, what Kamala Harris’ views of Israel are, which other potential candidates might or might not be better for Israel, and more. All that is for a different time.
Today, we’re doing nothing but posting a very brief excerpt from my book, Menachem Begin: The Battle for Israel's Soul, and the few pages that deal with Begin’s decision to resign. There were many differences (Biden is obviously planning to complete his term), but some similarities, as well: The obvious physical decline. The suspected cognitive decline. Begin’s unwillingness to go out to deliver his resignation in person because of a rash on his face, and Biden’s unwillingness to speak publicly because of his Covid-related hoarse voice.
Israel was at war in Lebanon when Begin resigned (he had initiated that war, which he knew was not going well), and Israel may be on the verge of an all-out war in Lebanon once again. Under Begin, Israel struck Iraq, and this week, Israel struck Yemen, a target further away than Teheran.
Much has changed, too much has not.
Reading the news about Biden, I could not help but think of Begin—and of the harsh personal tragedy that aging in public can be.
There are almost no videos online of the aging, frail Menachem Begin. And that is at is should be. He deserves to be remembered as he was at the peak of his powers.
Whatever one thinks of Joe Biden’s policies, it would be fitting if he, too, is ultimately remembered not for his decline, but his lifetime of service.
And Moses spoke these things to all Israel. He said to them:…“I am no longer able to lead you.” —Deuteronomy 31:1–21
With Aliza gone, Begin was alone. Then in February came the Kahan Commission’s report. When he read the report, he said to Yechiel Kadishai, simply: “I should resign.”
Shortly after the report was issued, Sharon told Begin that when Sharon had been preparing to join the Haganah, his father had said to him, “Never, ever turn a Jew in.” Sharon had never violated his father’s command, he said, “Yet you turned me in.” Begin was shaken; years later, Sharon—fully aware that he had been a key factor in Begin’s political demise—wrote with no regret that he believed that his comment had been too painful for the prime minister to bear.
Begin’s physical condition worsened. His sight was impaired from a stroke that he had suffered earlier that year, he had lost weight, and his medication left him disoriented. He came to the Knesset less often. Nahum Barnea, one of Israel’s most widely read columnists, wrote that Begin was a “disconnected zombie.” Batya Eldad, a friend of Aliza’s, told Benny’s wife that Begin looked to her like someone who simply wanted to die.
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He rarely gave public appearances or granted interviews. In May 1983, he postponed a meeting with Ronald Reagan, and by June he still was not up for the president’s visit. He told Kadishai that there was no way he could meet Reagan: “Look at my collar,” he said, “I can fit two fingers between my throat and my collar. Can I go to Reagan in my condition?” He called the president directly to tell him that the reason for the cancellation was strictly personal.
By the summer, Begin was avoiding cabinet meetings and was so weak that he could barely take off his own shoes. When he celebrated his seventieth birthday on August 19, 1983, Kadishai remembered that Begin had said to him on several occasions that he planned to retire at age seventy. Kadishai expected him to resign then, but Begin apparently wanted no festivities surrounding his resignation. The birthday celebrations meant that he would have to wait.
On August 27, though, German flags were flown at the prime minister’s office building; Helmut Kohl, the new German chancellor, was visiting. For Begin, whose parents and brother had been killed by the Germans, and who had railed against German reparations because he believed that the Germans should forever bear their guilt, the fluttering of German flags in the Jewish capital was simply too much for a man whose reservoirs of strength were depleted. As prime minister, he would have to shake Kohl’s hand. The next day, on August 28, as Kadishai arrived at Begin’s office, Begin said to him, “It’s good you came. I want to let you know that today I’m announcing that I’m resigning my position.” Kadishai had wanted him to stay on, but he both understood and had intuited that the decision was coming; there was nothing for him to say.
At the cabinet meeting, Begin explained that his reasons were “personal.” “I can no longer fulfill this role,” he said. The ministers, who did not have Kadishai’s intuitive understanding of Begin, were—despite his obvious decline—still stunned. The notion that Menachem Begin would give up the fight seemed utterly inconceivable. They begged him to reconsider. “The people love you,” one said.
Begin’s response was simple: ani lo yachol yoter, he said. “I cannot go on.” It was eerily reminiscent of Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s final words before his death in 1940: “I am so tired.”
Begin did not deliver his resignation notice to President Chaim Herzog [DG — father of Isaac Herzog, Israel’s current President] as protocol called for. He had a rash on his face and did not want to leave the house in that condition. It was the first time a resigning prime minister sent a messenger to deliver his resignation letter to the president. Dan Meridor, a Likud MK, a Begin protégé, and future minister of justice, minister of finance, and deputy prime minister, delivered it for him.
The next day was Erev Yom Kippur, the beginning of the holiest day of the year. Begin had observed Yom Kippur even in Soviet prison, but that night, he did not attend synagogue.
As we just had a granddaughter born in the States a few days ago, we’ve traveled to spend some time with our kids and the new addition.
So for the next three weeks, which coincide with The Three Weeks on the Jewish calendar, we’ll be posting at a somewhat reduced rate.
But podcasts for our paid subscribers will continue as usual, and there will be other posts as well.
Mazel Tov to you and your children.
Mazal Tov on your new addition.