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| Ezer Weizman pioneered contacts with
Palestinian and other Arab leaders. |
Former Israeli President Ezer Weizman, a flying ace and crack military
commander who built up the nation's air force and helped bring about the
Jewish state's first peace treaty with an Arab country, has died, Israeli
officials said Sunday. He was 80.
Weizman was president between 1993-2000. In three decades in political
life, he made a highly public transition from hawk to dove, saying the
Jews had to learn to "share this part of the world" with the Arabs.
The Maariv daily newspaper said Weizman died Sunday evening with his
family at his bedside.
As defense minister in 1979, he was instrumental in negotiating
Israel's peace treaty with Egypt.
Weizman, a political moderate who pioneered contacts with Palestinian
leaders, later resigned from then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin's Cabinet,
complaining about his strict interpretation of interim peace accords with
Egypt about the Palestinians.
Ariel Sharon, now Israel's premier, replaced Weizman.
Weizman's casual style breathed life into the presidency, a largely
ceremonial office, and endeared him to the Israeli public.
His vacillation on issues of peace reflected the uncertainty of
ordinary Israelis -- he cooed dovish when they favored territorial
concessions and called for a slow-down when they feared things were moving
too fast.
His bluntness and sharp-tongued barbs often got him into trouble with
other politicians who accused him of overstepping his authority.
His last year as president was marred by scandal when he became the
target of a police investigation into fraud and breach of public trust.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2005-04-25 11:45
