HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870.jpg
2.11 MB
Extraction Summary
11
People
7
Organizations
6
Locations
3
Events
3
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book excerpt / memoir page (evidence exhibit)
File Size:
2.11 MB
Summary
This document is page 113 from a memoir by Ehud Barak, submitted as evidence in a House Oversight investigation. It details the start of the 2006 Lebanon War, the political landscape of Israel following Ariel Sharon's stroke and Ehud Olmert's rise to Prime Minister, and mentions a specific phone call between Shimon Peres and Barak on the evening of July 12, 2006. The text highlights the lack of military experience in the Olmert cabinet at the onset of the crisis.
People (11)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Ehud Barak | Narrator / Former/Future Government Official |
Author of the text (implied by header '/ BARAK /'), describing his return to government and receiving a call from Shi...
|
| Arik (Ariel Sharon) | Former Prime Minister |
Former PM who suffered strokes and lapsed into a coma; formed Kadima party.
|
| Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu) | Opposition Leader |
Marshalled opposition inside Likud; led Likud to 12 seats in the election.
|
| Shimon Peres | Deputy Prime Minister / Labor Heavyweight |
Joined Kadima; called Barak before the emergency cabinet meeting; described as having vast political war experience.
|
| Ehud Olmert | Prime Minister |
Former Jerusalem mayor; took over after Sharon's coma; won the election with Kadima; called the emergency cabinet mee...
|
| Haim Ramon | Deputy Prime Minister |
Part of Olmert's coalition.
|
| Tzipi Livni | Foreign Minister |
Gifted lawyer, longtime Likudnik, strong backer of Gaza plan.
|
| Amir Peretz | Defense Minister |
Head of Labor party; given Defense Ministry despite lack of military experience.
|
| David Ben-Gurion | Historical Prime Minister |
Referenced regarding Peres's history (1956 war).
|
| Golda Meir | Historical Prime Minister |
Referenced regarding Peres's history (1967 war).
|
| Menachem Begin | Historical Prime Minister |
Referenced regarding the 1977 election defeat.
|
Organizations (7)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Hizbollah |
Fired rockets and ambushed Israeli Humvees.
|
|
| Israeli Government |
The political entity managing the crisis.
|
|
| Likud |
Political party led by Netanyahu.
|
|
| Kadima |
Centrist party formed by Sharon, won the election.
|
|
| Labor |
Political party led by Peretz, joined the coalition.
|
|
| Defense Ministry |
Led by Amir Peretz.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the footer 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870'.
|
Timeline (3 events)
July 12, 2006 (Evening)
Relationships (3)
Text states: 'Despite our own battles inside Labor, Shimon and I had become closer again of late...'
Olmert described as Sharon's 'notional deputy'.
Ariel Sharon
→
Political Rivals
→
Benjamin Netanyahu
Bibi marshalling opposition inside the Likud to Sharon's plan.
Key Quotes (3)
"It began on July 12, 2006, when Hizbollah fired rockets from southern Lebanon..."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870.jpg
Quote #1
"Arik was no longer Prime Minister by then."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870.jpg
Quote #2
"Olmert called an emergency cabinet meeting on the evening of the Hizbollah attack, and just before it was due to convene, my phone rang. It was Shimon..."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870.jpg
Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,307 characters)
/ BARAK / 113
ill-fated Israeli war in Lebanon since 1982, was the reason I ultimately found myself back in the Israeli government.
* * *
It began on July 12, 2006, when Hizbollah fired rockets from southern Lebanon as cover for an ambush of two Israeli Humvees on our side of the border. Two soldiers were killed, and two others abducted. A few hours later, when an Israeli armored unit crossed to look for the kidnapped soldiers, an explosive charge blew up one of our tanks, killing four of its crew members.
Arik was no longer Prime Minister by then. With Bibi marshalling opposition inside the Likud to the Gaza disenagegment, he had formed a new centrist party called Kadima, along with prominent Likud moderates and buttressed by a Labor heavyweight: Shimon Peres. But before the election, Arik suffered a pair of strokes, lapsing into a coma from which he would never emerge. His notional deputy, the veteran Likud politician and former Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert, found himself as Prime Minister. Kadima did comfortably win the May election. It ended up with 29 seats, followed by Labor with 19 and leaving the Netanyahu-led Likud with only 12. Olmert formed a coalition, including Labor, which had undeniable political ballast: Shimon was one of his deputy Prime Ministers, along with Haim Ramon. The gifted lawyer, longtime Likudnik and strong backer of the Gaza plan, Tzipi Livni, was Foreign Minister. Amir Peretz, as head of Labor, was given the Defense Ministry. But without Sharon himself at the helm, the government was now about to face a military crisis with virtually no military experience around the cabinet table.
Olmert called an emergency cabinet meeting on the evening of the Hizbollah attack, and just before it was due to convene, my phone rang. It was Shimon, who, though with no first-hand army experience, did at least have the political experience in war that none of Olmert’s other ministers could offer. He’d been by Ben-Gurion’s side during the 1956 war, had been in Golda’s government in 1967, and was Defense Minister after the 1973 war, through Entebbe, until Begin’s defeated Labor in the 1977 election. Despite our own battles inside Labor, Shimon and I had become closer again of late, especially after I’d supported him in his last
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HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_011870
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