Peres the hawk, the dove, the optimist

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/09/2016 (3678 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday at 93 in a hospital near Tel Aviv, connected 21st-century Israel with its early years — the ideals of the founders and the struggles that assured the survival of the young country.

During 66 years of public service to the state of Israel, Mr. Peres never won election to the top post of prime minister, though he twice held the office briefly. Yet he was indispensable, always at the centre of events as arms-buyer, diplomat, cabinet minister, opposition leader and architect of political coalitions in the shifting sands of Israeli politics. The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to him jointly with prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 1994, testified to the immense esteem he enjoyed on the world stage.

Mr. Peres knew Israel must be well-armed and militarily strong. After experiencing co-operative farming on a kibbutz as a teenager, he joined the Haganah paramilitary force to fight for independence. David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister and Mr. Peres’ political mentor, put him in charge of the Israeli navy at age 24 when independence was achieved. In subsequent years, Mr. Peres negotiated weapons purchases from reluctant allies and helped build up the Israel Defense Forces.

He also knew, however, the nation must find a way to live in peace with its Arab neighbours. His message of conciliation with the Palestinians and with the surrounding Arab states found a large audience in Israel, but never large enough to propel him to a full term in power.

The Knesset voted Mr. Peres into the presidency of Israel in 2007 at 82. From that largely ceremonial post, he continued to exude the optimism that had always marked his thought and his discourse, in sharp contrast with the anger and despair that sometimes dominate political debate.

In his inaugural address as president, he said:

“Israel must not only be an asset but a value. A moral, cultural and scientific call for the promotion of man, every man. It must be a good and warm home for Jews who are not Israelis, as well as for Israelis who are not Jews. And it must create equal opportunities for all, without discriminating between religion, nationality, community or sex… I have seen Israel in its most difficult hours and also in moments of achievement and spiritual uplifting. My years place me at an observation point from which can be viewed the scene of our reviving nation, spread out in all its glory… Permit me to remain an optimist. Permit me to be a dreamer of his people. If sometimes the atmosphere is autumnal, and also if today, the day seems suddenly grey, the president Israel has chosen will never tire of encouraging, awakening and reminding — because spring is waiting for us. The spring will definitely come.”

Spring had not yet come when Shimon Peres died this week. In his absence, it may become more difficult to recall the high ideals that drove the Zionists of his generation, the huge sacrifices they made and the huge risks they took to bring Israel into being.

His death is a good moment to celebrate Israel’s role as a shining light of learning, freedom, astute diplomacy, the rule of law and human values.