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Ezer Weizman was a military man, statesman, and the seventh President of the
State of Israel. He was born in 1924 in Tel Aviv and grew up in Haifa. Ezer
Weizman is the nephew of the first President of Israel, Chaim Weizman.
During the Second World War, Ezer Weizman served in the Royal Air Force as a
combat pilot and was stationed in Egypt and India.
When he was demobilized in 1946, he volunteered for the Etzel and, in 1947,
joined the “Air Service,” later to become the Israeli Air Force. During the War
of Independence, he flew munitions and supplies to the besieged Negev and Gush
Etzion and evacuated the wounded. In 1948, Weizman was sent to Czechoslovakia
for an accelerated retraining course to learn to fly the Messerschmidt planes
that later would be brought to Israel. From that time onward, he served in the
Air Force in a variety of operational and command positions. From 1958, he
served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, and from 1966-1969, he served
as Head of the Operations Division of the General Staff.
In 1969, Weizman was released from the IDF so he could join the national unity
government headed by the Herut Party. Weizman served as Minister of
Transportation until the Gahal faction, which included Herut, withdrew from the
government following the Rogers Accord in the summer of 1970. He also served as
the Chairman of the Herut party until 1972, when he resigned the position. In
1976, Weizman returned to Herut at the beginning of an election campaign that
led to a political “upheaval.” In 1979, he was appointed Minister of Defense in
the government of Menahem Begin and had a notable role in the peace process with
Egypt, until the signing of the peace agreement in 1979. In 1980, he resigned
from the government and from his position because of disputes over the pace of
implementation of the peace process and the solution of problems of the region.
During 1980-1984, he turned to business in the private sector. In 1984, he
established a new party, “Yahad” [together], that entered the Knesset with three
seats during a rotation government headed by Shimon Peres. Weizman served in the
government as a minister without portfolio in charge of Arab Affairs and was a
member of the inner cabinet. In October 1986, his party joined the Labor
coalition with him. In 1988, he was appointed Minister of Science and Technology
in the national unity government under the leadership of Yitzhak Shamir. After
the dissolution of this government, Weizman decided to retire from politics,
and, in 1992, he resigned his Knesset seat.
In 1993, Weizman was elected President of the State of Israel .
As President, he was attentive to the people and responded frequently to
requests by social welfare organizations and individuals, always trying to offer
solutions to people's problems. He, likewise, devoted special attention to the
absorption of new immigrants from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union, who
arrived en masse during the 1990s. During his term in office, the war in Lebanon
continued, and severe terror attacks were launched against Israel. President
Weizman made it a practice to visit the homes of the bereaved families, and to
comfort, to encourage, and to visit the wounded.
Despite the criticism of his involvement in political life, Weizman won the
broad sympathy of the public and was elected to a second term of office in 1998.
Weizman resigned his position at the end of 7 years in the presidency. He then
withdrew from both business and politics to his home in Caesaria.
Ezer Weizman passed away in Caesarea on the 24th April 2005, 15th Nissan 5765,
and was buried in Or Akiva next to his son and daughter-in-law.
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