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March 9, 2007
Peres is hopeful about the future
Former Israeli PM sees a light in shared natural resources and
the uniqueness of identity.
REBECA KUROPATWA
Israel was first created when Jews began asking themselves why
there is anti-Semitism, said Shimon Peres in a recent speech.
During a Feb. 26 lecture given by Peres, broadcast live from the
92nd Street Y in New York to a Winnipeg audience of about 40, the
former Israeli prime minister said the answer to anti-Semitism is
Zionism.
"We can only change ourselves by returning to our homeland
and building up its land and army," he said. "Then people
will see us as normal human beings."
When Peres was boarding a train to take him to Israel, he recalled
having to say goodbye to his grandfather for the last time. "This
same train station that took Jews to Israel, took them to [the]
gas chambers," said Peres. "In one place is both redemption
and Shoah – catastrophe."
Peres's biographer, Michael Bar-Zohar, moderated the talk. Bar-Zohar
told the audience that, in 1957, a Tel-Aviv newspaper ran an article
called "The young man in a blue suit." In the article,
Bar-Zohar said the writer described a young Israeli who almost single-handedly
created a secret alliance between Israel and France. Although this
young Israeli remained unnamed in the article, "those in the
know," according to Bar-Zohar, "knew the writer was referring
to the young director-general of the [Israeli] Ministry of Defence,
Shimon Peres." Bar-Zohar concluded his introduction by telling
the audience, "We hope to see him as Israel's next president."
From early on in his political career, Peres shared a strong friendship
with France. "I thought that the best way to make friends with
other politicians was to create trust and discussion," he said.
"With relationships built on trust, other doors began to open."
Peres said he believed that Israel, with the help of France, needed
to build a nuclear reactor. "We never dreamed to build nuclear
weapons, we just wanted a nuclear deterrent," he pointed out.
"I think this is ultimately why Egypt's President Sadat decided
to make peace, because he reached the conclusion that he could not
attack Israel anymore."
Asked if the Palestinians are better off without the late Yasser
Arafat, Peres said, "This is a question that belongs to the
past. Children should not spend their time studying history, as
it is something that cannot be changed. It is better to look to
the future. Without Arafat, the story wouldn't stop. With him, it
would never have been completed."
Peres said that Saddam Hussein was the worst dictator after Stalin
and Hitler, "and someone had to stop him. The problems in Iraq
are not because of the American presence, but because of the conflicts
between Shias and Sunnis. The initial decision [of the United States
going into Iraq] was very courageous and very right."
About Israel, the security fence "reduced our greatest problem
a few years ago – of the suicide bombers," said Peres.
"Suicide bombings have been reduced by 80 per cent. We had
the right to build this, as a defensive means of a passive nature."
And Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has been beneficial
to the country, explained Peres. "There were 8,000 settlers
in Gaza living in a sea of a million and a half Palestinians, on
a tiny 130-mile plot of land. They doubled their population every
10 years. What was their future? Many Palestinians said they attack
us because we are occupiers. So, we left Gaza – no more Israeli
soldiers and no more Israeli settlers. Now the world is asking them
why they are firing missiles, and they have stopped supporting them."
The world is made up of those who have experienced terror and those
who have not, according to Peres. "Those who have [experienced
terrorism] are more sympathetic, like India. We are not supported
by Sweden, but as they have never known terror, they are indifferent
to violence. We didn't have that luck."
Today, nature itself is pulling people to work together, Israelis
and Palestinians, said Peres: "The Dead Sea is losing water.
We both have to work together to save this sea. Without it, we are
both powerless. In our time, nature is becoming politics –
how to distribute oil, water and fresh air. The world is pregnant
with possibilities – we can keep our age, our identity, our
religion and our culture. There is no reason to hate, discriminate
and divide."
Peres said the common base between the United States and Israel
is the Bible. "If you take the Ten Commandments away from Western
civilization, there is no Western civilization," he asserted.
"I would like to see Israel and the Jewish people combining
the Ten Commandments with the Internet – the past with the
future: being as right as the Ten Commandments and as promising
as the Internet."
David Ben-Gurion was Peres's mentor. He used to tell Peres that
everything you do in life must be judged not by the moment, but
by history. In other words, it is best not to do something today
that history will not forgive you for in the future.
"In Israel, we have to live separately in spirit, religion
and culture," said Peres, "and we must also treat one
another like human beings, like friends."
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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