Epstein Secrets

Ori Or, a friend even before we’d both gone into the army, and who had now joined Labor. The other two were leading members of Likud: Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, Menachem Begin’s son. All three said they were sure the allegations were false. Did they know the details about the accident, they were asked. No, t

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011754 votes: one for a party list and one for a directly elected Prime Minister. This would be a personal test, an opportunity for Shimon to build on the still-tenuous achievement of Oslo and finally secure the endorsement of the Israeli people. It seemed, for a while, I might even hav

had made Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres. Though the two men had grown to respect each another over the years, Rabin neither trusted, nor much liked, Shimon. In fact, though Peres’s support inside Labor had secured him the foreign ministry, Rabin had stipulated that all peace talks would remain under his

ted, there wouldn’t be a run-off. At the start of April, the final list of candidates was set. There were five. In addition to Bibi, Yitzhik and me, Benny Begin had decided to run on the right. Also in the contest was Knesset member Azmi Beshara, the first Israeli Arab citizen to seek national office. When w

’d agree on a unity government. To my amusement, if not altogether to my surprise, I got word that Bibi was putting out separate political feelers to Shimon Peres. But before long, it became clear there was a specific political motivation behind his approaching me. It was indeed the peace process. But it

And while I did make a brief attempt to return as party leader later in the year, when it was clear I wasn’t going to win, I threw my support behind Shimon and against the other challenger, the longtime labor- union leader Amir Peretz, who was running on a platform to take Labor out of Sharon’s governmen

Ori Or, a friend even before we'd both gone into the army, and who had now joined Labor. The other two were leading members of Likud: Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, Menachem Begin's son. All three said they were sure the allegations were false. Did they know the details about the accident, they were asked. No, t

HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_028131 votes: one for a party list and one for a directly elected Prime Minister. This would be a personal test, an opportunity for Shimon to build on the still-tenuous achievement of Oslo and finally secure the endorsement of the Israeli people. It seemed, for a while, I might even have

had made Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres. Though the two men had grown to respect each another over the years, Rabin neither trusted, nor much liked, Shimon. In fact, though Peres's support inside Labor had secured him the foreign ministry, Rabin had stipulated that all peace talks would remain under his

there wouldn't be a run-off. * ** At the start of April, the final list of candidates was set. There were five. In addition to Bibi, Yitzhik and me, Benny Begin had decided to run on the right. Also in the contest was Knesset member Azmi Beshara, the first Israeli Arab citizen to seek national office. When we

'd agree on a unity government. To my amusement, if not altogether to my surprise, I got word that Bibi was putting out separate political feelers to Shimon Peres. But before long, it became clear there was a specific political motivation behind his approaching me. It was indeed the peace process. But it

GHT_028163 / BARAK / 30 I'd tried not to pay too much attention to newspaper polls during the campaign, perhaps because even the "good" ones, to use Shimon's phrase, had me with just a narrow lead, with Yitzhik Mordechai's 10 or 11 percent still likely to prevent outright victory in the first round. But

s took place within the so-called Group of Eight, often also including the chief of staff and other top generals from the kirva. Both Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, Menachem Begin’s son and a minister without portfolio, were opposed to an Israeli attack from the start. They were convinced that the implications f

I told a television interviewer that the government had every right to respond and was doing so effectively. Olmert phoned to thank me. When he, like Shimon, asked what I thought the government should do next, I was straightforward: “Do your best to bring things to an end as soon as you can.” I said that

s took place within the so-called Group of Eight, often also including the chief of staff and other top generals from the kirya. Both Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, Menachem Begin's son and a minister without portfolio, were opposed to an Israeli attack from the start. They were convinced that the implications f

I told a television interviewer that the government had every right to respond and was doing so effectively. Olmert phoned to thank me. When he, like Shimon, asked what I thought the government should do next, I was straightforward: "Do your best to bring things to an end as soon as you can." I said that