Asher Ben-Natan Asher Ben-Natan Asher Ben-Natan (February 15, 1921 – June 17, 2014) was an Israeli diplomat and a key figure in the country's defense and diplomacy fields. Ben-Natan led the search for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was captured in 1960. He became the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense from 1959 until 1965. Ben-Natan then served as the first Israeli Ambassador to Germany (then West Germany) from August 1965 until 1970. Ben-Natan was then appointed as Israel's Ambassador to France from 1970 until his retirement in 1974. Asher Ben-Natan was born Arthur Piernikartz in Vienna, Austria, on
Begin the Begin of the I.R.S. Years 1982-1987". As the opening track on "Lifes Rich Pageant", the song heralded a new clarity in Stipe's vocals. Written on acoustic guitars in Stipe's home, the original version of the song was a minute longer, with five different choruses, lacking melody and a bridge. Replete with references to Americana and revolution, the title is a pun on Cole Porter's "Begin the Beguine". Begin the Begin "Begin the Begin" is the first song on R.E.M.'s fourth album, "Lifes Rich Pageant". Lead singer Michael Stipe has called it "a song of personal, political activism." Though never released as