Israel and the Middle East News Update

Friday, September 30

Headlines:  NYT Ad: : A Never-Ending Quest for Peace  Obama Remembers Peres as 20th Century Giant for Peace  Bibi: Huge Funeral Turnout Testament to Peres’ Quest for Peace  Abbas, Senior Arab Leaders Attending Funeral of Shimon Peres  Bill Clinton: Peres Was a Dreamer Who Never Gave Up  In One of Peres’ Last Interviews: Trump’s View ‘Unbelievable, Ignorant’  Security Chiefs Step Out of the Shadows to Praise Peres  Police Arrest Jews, Arabs Ahead of Peres Funeral

Commentary:  Ma’ariv: “The Man Who Was There”  By Alon Ben-David, Military Affairs Commentator, Channel 10  Ha’aretz: “Shimon Peres Was Always Security Minded to the Bone”  By Nehemia Shtrasler, Contributor, Ha’aretz

S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor

News Excerpts September 30, 2016

New York Times Shimon Peres: A Never-Ending Quest for Peace

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Times of Israel Obama Remembers Peres as 20th Century Giant for Peace US President Barack Obama paid tribute to former president Shimon Peres at the state funeral on Friday, calling him one of “the giants of the 20th century” who will be remembered for his efforts to make peace with the Palestinians. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians was the focus of the president’s homage to the last founding father of Israel. During the funeral, the US president sat in the front row, flanked by Prime Minister and Chemi Peres, the son of the late statesman. Peres saw the need for Palestinian statehood, Obama said, paraphrasing him saying that “the Jewish people were not born to rule another people.” See also, “Obama at Peres Funeral: Abbas Presence Reminds Us of Unfinished Business of Peace” (Jerusalem Post) See also, “Obama Says Goodbye to Peres in Hebrew: Shimon, Toda Raba Haver Yakar” (Ynet News)

Ha’aretz Bibi: Huge Funeral Turnout Testament to Peres’ Quest for Peace Eulogizing Shimon Peres as one of Israel's greatest leaders, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked world dignitaries on Friday for the large turnout for the late statesman's funeral as a "testament to his optimism, his quest for peace." Netanyahu said at the burial held at Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl cemetery that Peres "built a life of purpose, he soared to many heights. He was a great man of Israel, he was a great man of the world….I want to thank you all for coming today. That so many leaders came from around the world to bid farewell to Shimon, is a testament to his optimism his quest for peace his love for Israel," Netanyahu said in English. See also, “Leaders from 70 Nations in Israel for Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres' State Funeral” (Ha'aretz) See also, “Foreign Dignitaries Amass for Peres Funeral” (Ynet News)

BICOM Abbas, Senior Arab Leaders Attending Funeral of Shimon Peres The President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Jordan’s Prime Minister and Egypt’s Foreign Minister are this morning attending the funeral of Israel’s former-President Shimon Peres. PA President Mahmoud Abbas sent a request yesterday to coordinate his attendance to Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of Israel’s government activities in the territories. The request was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office. An unnamed Palestinian official was quoted saying that Abbas wanted to “send a strong message to Israeli society that the Palestinians are for peace, and appreciate the efforts of peaceful men like Shimon Peres”. See also, “Israel Grants Permission to Abbas and 4 Senior PA Officials to Attend Peres' Funeral” (Jerusalem Post) See also, “Obama at Funeral: Abbas's Presence Reminds Us of Unfinished Business of Peace” (Jerusalem Post)

Jerusalem Post Bill Clinton: Peres Was a Dreamer Who Never Gave Up Former US president Bill Clinton spoke at the funeral of Shimon Peres, saying he was honored to have known him for the last 25 years. Clinton put the loss of Peres into perspective paraphrasing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tweet that Thursday "was Israel's first day without Shimon Peres." Clinton continued by praising Peres's steadfast commitment to public service, and added he was honored to have shared a friendship with the late president over the last 25 years. See also, “Hillary Clinton: When Peres Spoke, It Was Like Listening to a Psalm” (Arutz Sheva)

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Times of Israel Peres In Last Interviews: Trump’s View ‘Unbelievable, Ignorant’ In one of his final interviews, Shimon Peres excoriated policy proposals being put forth by presidential nominee Donald Trump, calling them “unbelievable” and “ignorant.” Speaking with Bloomberg Television earlier this month, Israel’s elder statesman, who died early Wednesday at 93, described the Republican candidate as an isolationist who would endanger America’s role in the world. “The idea of Mr. Trump, to isolate America,” said the former Israeli prime minister and president on September 2 in Cernobbio, Italy. “Shall I say, in a nice way, it’s unbelievable, ignorant.”

Times of Israel Security Chiefs Step Out of the Shadows to Praise Peres The death of former president Shimon Peres on Wednesday elicited statements from some of Israel’s most secretive organizations. Ze’ev Snir, head of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission, paid tribute to Peres’s “substantive contribution” to the establishment of the Negev Nuclear Research Center near Dimona, in southern Israel, and to the “founding of Israel’s nuclear policy as a significant plank in ensuring the national strength of the country.” In other tributes to the late former president, Nadav Argaman, head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, eulogized Peres’s “massive contribution to the design and establishment of Israel’s security outlook and its strength.”

Arutz Sheva Police Arrest Jews, Arabs Ahead of Peres Funeral Ahead of the state funeral for former President Shimon Peres on Friday, Israeli security forces are ramping up operations to secure the event. With world leaders including President Obama and former President Bill Clinton expected to attend, Israeli police and internal security agencies are taking every precaution – including preemptive arrests of people they have deemed potential troublemakers. Speaking at a press conference Thursday evening, Israeli Police Chief Roni Alshich discussed the preparations underway for what is expected to be the grandest state funeral since Nelson Mandela’s in 2013. During the press conference Alshich revealed that a number of right-wing Jewish activists and Arabs had been arrested over the past day, as part of efforts to ensure that the funeral runs smoothly – and safely.

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Ma’ariv – September 30, 2016 The Man Who Was There By Alon Ben-David  There is something comforting about this people’s ability to remember fondly and to unite around a figure so complex and non-superficial as the late Shimon Peres—a man who was full of contrasts and contradictions, who was larger than life, but who was also as petty as them. A man blessed with talents and many weaknesses, who reached tremendous achievements and suffered scathing failures, and who was exposed to the depths of the hate of Israeli society in most years of his life yet was the recipient of tenderness and love in his later years.  There was no one who strove harder than he in the last 50 years, who was as determined and uncompromising, who could see broad horizons and beyond them. But despite his constant striving, his experience that was second to none, and despite the vision that was constantly renewed, he succeeded in reaching the position of top leader only twice and holding on to it for only a short time. The man who was always there, before us all, never earned the Israeli public’s full faith in his leadership.  Perhaps it is because of this that it was easy for his admirers from the right and the left to unite around him this week. The man who ensured the fact of our existence here thanks to Dimona, the Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael is also the man who with his own hands drove in the stakes of the settlement enterprise, which today threatens our future as a Jewish state. He reinvented himself only a few years later, like the phoenix from the ashes, and became the symbol of the peace camp. There was no individual in the history of the State of Israel who was so productive and whose entire life was a story of inexhaustible passion for action and knowledge. Among his long list of achievements, which has been detailed at length over the last two days, the achievement that could have been the greatest of his life and of the State of Israel was played down—the London Agreement.  The agreements that he reached with King Hussein in 1987 could have brought the conflict with the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank to an early end; they could have spared us two Intifadas and who knows how many more waves of terrorism; and they could have placed Israel’s relationship with the region on entirely different levels. It seems to me that this ideal agreement, which was firmly rejected then by Prime Minister , would be embraced today even by members of the . But Peres bent to Shamir’s refusal, the Intifada broke out within half a year, and the Jordanian option died.  As far as he was able to dream, it was his political opponents in the end who made peace agreements—the late Menachem Begin with Egypt and the late Yitzhak Rabin with Jordan. Peres was privileged to have recorded in his name, of all things, the dubious Oslo Accords, which gave him a Nobel Prize. He also made the unprecedentedly bold decision to launch Operation Entebbe with the support of Prime Minister Rabin. He achieved a tremendous accomplishment in his first term as prime minister with the eradication of inflation and the recovery of the Israeli economy, but even that was not enough for him to win the next election.

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 Insatiable Desire  He was finally victorious for the first time in clear and absolute fashion at the age of 84 and was appointed to the job of his life—the president of the country. It was then that the members of the peace camp could forgive him for the settlements and that the members of the right could forgive him for “giving them [the Palestinians] rifles.” Peres in this symbolic position without any true authority could be what we always wanted him to be—a nice, enlightened, and peace-seeking face, which would represent us to the world and would liberate us from the need to actually seek a better future. He was welcomed with royal honor in the halls of Europe and we in the meantime could fortify our settlements, perpetuate the occupation, and deteriorate into a politics of hate that does not even pretend to offer hope.  The words of the eulogies that will be given today over his grave will only dwarf the eulogizers. None of them dreamt a tenth of Peres’s dreams, not to mention having even achieved them. It is interesting to wonder about what they will be thinking when they escort a man to his final resting place whose gravestone is too small to contain the list of his achievements. What does the historian’s son say to himself after having already served as prime minister for ten years? What achievement in history will be recorded in his name? He did not even dare to revoke and even contributed to the realization of Peres’s Oslo Accords, which he loathes.  Peres to many seems superhuman with his infinite ambition and his inexhaustible industriousness, but his charm was in the integration of his far-reaching vision with his human worldliness—the ability to appreciate a woman’s beauty, to enjoy a glass of beer even in the morning, and his insatiable desire for the company of people and for their love.  Behind all this was a sharp mind that did not stop learning. I was privileged to interview him several months ago in front of a group of senior executives from countries around the world. This elderly man presented a sharp and clear vision for children’s education for over an hour and a half—the teaching of reading and writing to infants, the learning of a second language in kindergarten, the maximal utilization of the cognitive abilities of young people. I am certain that, like me, all those present continued to think about his wise words far after the meeting. He was one of the most vital figures in our public life and was lucky to not lose his vitality and grace until almost his very last day.  We were not orphaned today like we were orphaned when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated or when Ariel Sharon went into a coma. Peres may have served as prime minister for three years, but Israeli society did not really see him as a leader. He was our alter-ego, a figure to adorn ourselves with on the outside as long as we do not really make decisions inside. But we did lose our façade, the ability to hide behind his large and symbolic personality.  We have now been left naked, alone in facing the national and international mirror. On the eve of the High Holidays and days of introspection, we have a choice—do we continue wallowing in the depths of our lives or do we remember the words of King Solomon that without vision, the people cast off restraint. Alon Ben-David is a journalist and military affairs commentator for Channel Ten Israel news.

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Summary: Perhaps it is because of this that it was easy for his admirers from the right and the left to unite around him this week. The man who ensured the fact of our existence here thanks to Dimona, the Israel Aerospace Industries, and Rafael is also the man who with his own hands drove in the stakes of the settlement enterprise, which today threatens our future as a Jewish state. He reinvented himself only a few years later, like the phoenix from the ashes, and became the symbol of the peace camp. There was no individual in the history of the State of Israel who was so productive and whose entire life was a story of inexhaustible passion for action and knowledge.

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Ha’aretz – September 29, 2016 Shimon Peres Was Always Security-Minded to the Bone

As the years passed, Peres came to understand that controlling another people for years on end was a surefire recipe for endless wars and lack of security.

By Nehemia Shtrasler  So who was Shimon Peres – a rapacious hawk or a lily-white dove? The father of the settlements or a pursuer of peace? Did he really undergo a conversion? I don’t think so. There’s a clear line that links all his major deeds: security, security and more security.  His defense career began shortly before the establishment of the state, when he was involved in buying arms for the army in the making. He then convinced Al Schwimmer, an American pilot and businessman, to found Israel Aerospace Industries here.  In the 1950s Peres developed warm relations with France. This enabled Israel to buy modern weaponry and also its nuclear reactor – Israel’s security umbrella and Peres’ crowning achievement.  In the 1970s he was the father of the settlements – Elon Moreh, Kedumim, Ofra and Ariel. Yet here, too, it was his security-oriented approach at work. He believed that more territory equaled more security. He was a paradigmatic member of David Ben-Gurion’s Rafi party.  But as the years passed, Peres came to understand that controlling another people for years on end was a surefire recipe for endless wars and lack of security. The territories morphed in his view from an asset into a burden. Thus from the late 1970s onward, he sought a creative solution to the problem.  An opportunity arrived when he became prime minister in 1984 as part of the first Labor-Likud rotation government. He set three goals for himself: withdrawing from Lebanon, rescuing the economy from hyperinflation and solving the Palestinian conflict.  In January 1985 his government, shortly after its establishment, approved the decision to withdraw from Lebanon. The plan to end hyperinflation was implemented in July 1985. As for solving the conflict with the Palestinians, in April 1987 he signed the London Agreement with King Hussein of Jordan. In just two years he had accomplished what others might manage in a decade.  The London Agreement was a brilliant move on Peres’ part, as it passed the hot potato of the territories to Hussein, who was supposed to reassume responsibility for them, sign a peace agreement with Israel and give the Palestinians autonomy. This excellent solution would have prevented the establishment of Hamas and the outbreak of the first intifada in December 1987. It also would have prevented the worst outcome of all: the de facto creation of a binational state – the end of the Zionist dream.  But by 1987 Peres was serving as foreign minister in Yitzhak Shamir’s government, and Shamir hastened to torpedo the agreement – a key episode in Israel’s “march of folly.” Many years ago, I asked former Likud minister Silvan Shalom what he thought about it. He replied that scuttling this agreement was Likud’s biggest mistake. 8

 Yet Peres didn’t despair and didn’t stop trying. After all, he was a man of both vision and action. Therefore in 1993 he concocted the Oslo Accord with Yasser Arafat – a huge achievement that could have led to the end of the conflict.  Peres once told me that then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin allowed him to continue negotiating with Arafat’s PLO only because he thought the negotiations would fail and Peres would be left beating his head against the wall. There was no love lost between them.  But this agreement was shredded after Rabin’s assassination, when Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister. One of his first decisions was to open the Western Wall Tunnel, a decision that sparked clashes in which 17 Israeli soldiers and 100 Palestinians were killed. The fire of those clashes also consumed the Oslo Accord.  It’s all related. Without the Dimona nuclear reactor, there would have been no Oslo Accord; power is the precondition for peace. And without Oslo, there would have been no peace agreement with Jordan.  The fact that Peres threw his weight behind the Economic Stabilization Plan in July 1985 also stemmed from his security-oriented approach. Israel’s currency reserves were vanishing, which endangered the economy, and therefore the state’s existence. He also understood that such hyperinflation (444.9 percent in 1984) could lead to political instability, to hunger for a “strong leader” and the collapse of democracy. Therefore, despite the intimidation and the risks, he passed the revolutionary economic plan, which saved the economy from collapse.  In other words, this isn’t a question of rapacious hawk versus lily-white dove, or of a settler who turned into a peacenik. Peres was simply security-minded to the bone. Nehemia Shtrasler is a contributor to Ha’aretz newspaper.

Summary: It’s all related. Without the Dimona nuclear reactor, there would have been no Oslo Accord; power is the precondition for peace. And without Oslo, there would have been no peace agreement with Jordan. The fact that Peres threw his weight behind the Economic Stabilization Plan in July 1985 also stemmed from his security-oriented approach. Israel’s currency reserves were vanishing, which endangered the economy, and therefore the state’s existence. He also understood that such hyperinflation (444.9 percent in 1984) could lead to political instability, to hunger for a “strong leader” and the collapse of democracy. Therefore, despite the intimidation and the risks, he passed the revolutionary economic plan, which saved the economy from collapse. In other words, this isn’t a question of rapacious hawk versus lily-white dove, or of a settler who turned into a peacenik. Peres was simply security- minded to the bone.

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