Yitzhak Shamir led the Zionist underground before becoming Israel's seventh prime minister. Through 2005 the opening stated plainly that he joined the Irgun, one of the underground Jewish terrorist organizations directed against British rule in Palestine. Today the opening calls the same movement a Zionist militant group and Shamir a revolutionary, the word terrorist itself no longer appears in the opening though it survives five times elsewhere in the article. A reader arriving now learns Shamir led a militant group and not that the opening once called that group a terrorist organization.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-01. “annexation” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Yitzhak Shamir ( Hebrew יִצְחָק שָׁמִיר ) (born October 15 , 1915 ) was Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992 .1Born in Ruzinoy , Poland , he came to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1935 . His family name was Jazernicki but he later changed it to Shamir. Shamir joined the Irgun Zvai Leumi , one of the underground Jewish terrorist organizations directed against the British occupation of Palestine. When the Irgun split in 1940 , Shamir sided with the most militant faction, headed by Avraham Stern , which later became known as the Stern Gang . In 1941 he was imprisoned by British authorities. After Stern was killed by the British in 1942 , Shamir escaped from the detention camp and became one of the three leaders of the group in 1943 , reforming it as " Lehi ". During his tenure, the Lehi was responsible for the 1944 assassination of Britain's minister of state for the Middle East, Lord Moyne, and the 1948 assassination of the United Nations representative in the Middle East, Count Folke Bernadotte , due to their political initiatives for Palestine which clashed with the right-wing views of the Lehi . After the successful battle for independence, Shamir joined the secret intelligence service ( Mossad ) ( 1955 - 1965 ) and was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 . He became chairman of the Knesset in 1977, and foreign minister in 1980 , before succeeding Menachem Begin as prime minister in 1983 . Although Shamir had a reputation as a Likud hard-liner, in 1977 he presided at the visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and the peace talks; in 1981 and 1982 he guided negotiations with Egypt to normalize relations after the treaty and directed negotiations which led to the 1983 agreement with Lebanon (never ratified by the Lebanese government). His failure to stabilize Israel's inflationary economy led to an indecisive election in 1984 , after which a coalition was formed between his Likud Party and the Labor Party , led by Shimon Peres . Peres agreed to be prime minister until September 1986 , when Shamir took over. As he prepared to reclaim the office of prime minister, which he had held previously from October 1983 to September 1984 , Shamir's hard-line image appeared to moderate. Reelected in 1988 , Shamir and Peres formed a new coalition government until 1990 , when the Labor party left the government, leaving Shamir with a narrow coalition. In 1991 the Shamir government took part in the Madrid peace talks and ordered the rescue of thousands of Ethiopian Jews, the Operation Solomon . The Shamir government also decided not to retaliate after the unprovoked Iraqi Scud missile volleys (many of which struck Israeli population centers) during the First Gulf War . The United States urged restraint, saying Israeli attacks would jeopardize the delicate Arab-Western coalition assembled against Iraq . Although long a hard-liner, Shamir left office in 1992 , after his government fell amid charges that Likud—by taking part in the Madrid Peace Conference—had effectively agreed to enter negotiations over the West Bank and Gaza. Shamir and many other Israelis consider the West Bank as an integral part of the land of Israel, and reject the notion of an independent Palestinian Arab state in this territory. Israeli opponents of this view contend that it will lead to continued repression of the Palestinian Arabs and demographic catastrophe (with Arab population growth rates being much higher than that of the Israelis), possibly ending with a dual nationality state replacing the current character of Israel as a Jewish democracy. Some opinions suggest that he contended to wait for a suitable time and circumstances politically fruitful for transferring Arab population abroad. Nevertheless, only a staunch minority in Israel advocate the forceful removal of Arab inhabitants or even Israeli annexation of the West bank and Gaza territories, and Shamir has shown some pragmatism by refusing, as Prime Minister, to promote such an annexation, and in his support of Israeli participation in the Madrid Peace Conference, although without making any major ideological concessions. Likud's Yitzhak Shamir was succeeded by Labour's Yitzhak Rabin who also sincerely believed that the West Bank rightfully belongs to Jews not to the Arabs. However, unlike Shamir, Rabin was willing to relinquish the West Bank and Gaza in exchange for peace with the Arabs, especially the Palestinians. Shamir stepped down from Likud leadership in March , 1993 . He was a sharp critic of his Likud successor, Benjamin Netanyahu , as being too indecisive in dealing with the Palestinians.2
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The opening as it stood in 2010 26 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Yitzhak Shamir ( , born October 15, 1915) was the seventh Prime Minister of Israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 368644091.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Yitzhak Shamir ( , listen ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky ; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel , serving two terms, 1983–84 and 1986–1992.Before the establishment of the State of Israel , Shamir was a leader of the Zionist paramilitary group Lehi .After the establishment of the State of Israel he served in the Mossad between 1955 and 1965, a Knesset Member, a Knesset Speaker and a Foreign Affairs Minister .Shamir was the country's third longest-serving prime minister after David Ben-Gurion and Benjamin Netanyahu .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669452226.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Yitzhak Shamir ( , listen ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky ; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel , serving two terms, 1983–84 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment of the state of Israel , Shamir was a leader of the Zionist militant group Lehi . After the establishment of the Israeli state he served in the Mossad between 1955 and 1965 and as a Knesset Member.He was served as the 6th Speaker of the Knesset and as Foreign Affairs Minister . Shamir was the country's third-longest-serving prime minister after David Ben-Gurion and Benjamin Netanyahu .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961267936.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Prime Minister of Israel from 1983–1984, 1986–1992 Yitzhak Shamir ( , listen ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky ; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of Israel , serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992). Before the establishment of the State of Israel , Shamir was a leader of the Zionist militant group Lehi . After the establishment of the Israeli state he served in the Mossad between 1955 and 1965 and as a Knesset member. He served as the sixth speaker of the Knesset , and as foreign affairs minister.Shamir was the country's third-longest-serving prime minister, after Benjamin Netanyahu and David Ben-Gurion .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176730380.
The opening as it stood in 2025 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Prime Minister of Israel (1983–1984, 1986–1992) Yitzhak Shamir ( Hebrew : יצחק שמיר , listen ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky ; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and revolutionary who served as the seventh prime minister of Israel , serving two terms (1983–1984, 1986–1992).Before the establishment of the State of Israel , Shamir was a leader of the Zionist militant group Lehi , also known as the Stern Gang.Yitzhak Shamir grew up in interwar Poland .Shamir joined Betar , the paramilitary wing of Revisionist Zionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky 's Hatzohar political party .In 1935, Shamir emigrated from Białystok to British Palestine , where he worked in an accountant's office.Shamir joined the Revisionist Zionist Irgun paramilitary group led by Menachem Begin .During World War II the Irgun split over the question of whether to support the Axis Powers against the British Empire .Avraham Stern and Shamir sought an alliance with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany and formed the breakaway militia group Lehi.Lehi was unable to persuade the Axis powers to lend it support.Shamir led Lehi after Stern's assassination in 1942.In 1944 Shamir married Lehi member Shulamit Levy .During the 1948 Palestine war , Lehi and the Irgun committed the Deir Yassin massacre of over 100 Palestinians .After the establishment of the Israeli state Shamir served in Mossad between 1955 and 1965.Shamir directed Operation Damocles and resigned from Mossad after Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion ordered an end to the program.Shamir was first elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud alliance of parties.Shamir served as Speaker of the Knesset after Likud became the first right-wing Israeli government after winning the 1977 Israeli legislative election against Prime Minister Shimon Peres ' Alignment .Shamir was named Foreign Minister by Prime Minister Begin in 1980 and would serve in this post until 1986.Shamir won the 1983 Herut leadership election to succeed Begin as party leader, which made him Prime Minister and leader of the Likud after a merger.Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir lost the 1984 election to Peres.Peres and Shamir entered into a grand coalition deal where Peres became prime minister while Shamir remained foreign minister until 1986, when Peres and Shamir traded jobs.The First Intifada began in 1987 and Shamir resisted a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict .Shamir unified the Likud alliance into one party in 1988.Shamir reluctantly restarted the Israeli–Palestinian peace process at the behest of the United States and Soviet Union which culminated in the Madrid Conference of 1991 .Shamir lost the 1992 Israeli legislative election to Yitzhak Rabin and in 1993 Benjamin Netanyahu replaced him as Likud leader.
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Today
“annexation” appeared 2 times in this article's opening at its peak. Today it appears nowhere in the article, references included. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined between 2005 and 6 October 2023.
Then
prime minister of israel from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1986 to 1992
Now
israeli politician and the seventh prime minister of israel
Sections that no longer exist
Present on 6 October 2023, absent today. A heading can vanish because the section was deleted or because it was renamed or merged, and we have not separated those here, so treat this as a list of what to check rather than a verdict.
Early and personal life1,874 characters
Zionist activism3,613 characters
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
