Yitzhak Shamir: Once a Hawk, Always a Hawk

Yael S. Aronoff

doi:10.1017/CBO9781139814843.003

2 - Yitzhak Shamir: Once a Hawk, Always a Hawk

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014

Yael S. Aronoff

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Yael S. Aronoff: Affiliation:
Michigan State University

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Summary

The sea is the same sea and the Arabs are the same Arabs.

– Yitzhak Shamir, October 27, 2000

Yitzhak Shamir maintained a hostile image of the Palestinians throughout his long life, thinking until his death at age ninety-six in July 2012 that “the Arabs” want to conquer Israel and throw the Jews into the sea. Unlike Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Ehud Barak, who tried to obtain peace with the Palestinians, Shamir remained a hawk unwilling to compromise any of the Greater Land of Israel for peace or to negotiate with the Palestinian Authority directly, and he vehemently opposed a Palestinian state. Shamir strongly criticized Benjamin Netanyahu’s and Ariel Sharon’s compromises.

Shamir was speaker of the Knesset from 1977 to 1980, foreign minister from 1980 to 1983 and from 1984 to 1986, and prime minister from 1983 to 1984 and from 1986 to 1992. In these positions, he significantly shaped Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians and continued to have influence within the Likud Party after leaving office.

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers
When Hard-Liners Opt for Peace
, pp. 19 - 42

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139814843.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2014

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