Menachem Begin, the former Israeli prime minister whose uncompromising vision of Eretz Israel redefined the political map of the Middle East, died early Monday. He was 78.Mr. Begin, who had become ...

Menachem Begin’s legacy beggars belief. The former Prime Minister of Israel survived the Shoah and Soviet Gulags. He headed the Irgun, leading the British to label him a terrorist.

Of those who fought for the Jewish state, and then went on to lead it, the two outstanding figures are David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin. Outstanding not just because of their contributions both ...