Netanyahu to speak at local temple

Amy R. Spurgeon & Jasmine Lee

NEWPORT BEACH -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who

led his country for three years until he was voted out of office in May

1999, will speak Sunday at Temple Bat Yahm.

It will be Netanyahu’s first visit to Orange County.

Israeli voters in 1996 made Netanyahu the country’s youngest prime

minister.

Netanyahu spent his high school years in the United States, where his

father, historian and professor Benzion Netanyahu, taught history.

Returning to Israel in 1967, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and

served in an elite commando unit. Later, he studied political science at

MIT and Harvard University.

In 1984, he was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and

served there for four years. Returning to Israel in 1988, Netanyahu was

elected to the 12th Knesset as a Likud member and was appointed deputy

foreign minister.

On May 29, 1996, Netanyahu was elected as Israel’s ninth prime minister.

He defeated incumbent Shimon Peres, who had held the office for a year

after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

Netanyahu held the office for three years until he was defeated in the

May 1999 election by Ehud Barak.

Shortly after his defeat, Netanyahu’s aides announced the right-wing

political leader would write a new book and embark upon a U.S. lecture

circuit.

Netanyahu’s book, “A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the

Nations,” was published in January. Some literary critics have described

the book as a well-done, albeit one-sided, primer to Zionism.

Temple Bat Yahm has named Netanyahu its Norman Schiff Scholar Lecturer

for this year.

The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. at the temple, 1011 Camelback Street.

Tickets will be sold at the door. Reserved seating is $50, general

admission $25 and students and seniors $18.

For more information, call (949) 644-1999.