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Israel News for September 30, 2016

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In Tribute
World leaders and dignitaries from 70 countries attended the funeral of Shimon Peres today in Jerusalem. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin delivered the first eulogy, followed by PM Netanyahu, who thanks the world leaders for attending and said, “Shimon lived a life of purpose, he soared to many heights…he was a great man of Israel he was a great man of the world. We find hope in his legacy, as does the world.”

Former US President Bill Clinton then paid tribute to Peres, calling him a “dear friend who inspired awe by refusing to lose hope in the dream of peace and coexistence.” He added, “I always was in awe of his endless capacity to look beyond even the most crushing setbacks in order to seize the opportunities of each new day.”

Peres’s children spoke next, followed by author Amos Oz. The final eulogy was delivered by US President Obama.

Obama said, “I could not be more honored to be in Jerusalem to say farewell to my friend, to Shimon Peres, who showed us that justice and hope are at the heart of the Zionist idea. A free life in homeland regained, a secure life of a nation that can defend itself by itself, a full life of a friendship with nations who can be counted on as allies, always…. this was Shimon Peres’s life. This is the state of Israel. This is the story of the Jewish people.

Obama praised Peres for his efforts in trying to make peace with the Palestinians, saying, “Even in the face of terrorist attacks, repeated disappointments at the negotiating table, he insisted that Palestinians must be seen as equal in dignity to Jews and therefore equal in self-determination. He believed that Israel would be best protected when Palestinians had a state of their own.” 

Obama concluded with the hebrew words, “Toda raba, chaver yakar” — thank you dear friend.

For further reading click here.

Big Handshake
Palestinian Authority President Abbas and PM Netanyahu shook hands at the funeral of Shimon Peres today. Abbas remarked, “We haven’t met for a long time” to the PM and Sarah Netanyahu after the handshake. The PM replied, “I very much appreciate that you came to the funeral.”

Abbas was given a front-row seat, at the request of the Peres family, between European Council President Donald Tusk and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. President Obama briefly greeted the Palestinian leader with a kiss on each cheek before walking down the line to stand next to Netanyahu.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan and the Foreign Minister of Egypt also attended the funeral.

For further reading click here.

Cyber Police
The Israeli government has launched a new initiative called “the prevention of violence and crime on the internet” to protect children and young people from internet based crimes and cyber bullying. The initiative will include the participation of 131 policemen and civilians, dedicated police units and a 24/7 emergency center. It will be allocated an annual budget of NIS 50 million and will be managed by the Internal Defense Ministry.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan praised initiative, saying it would constitute a digital “iron dome” which will protect children in Israel on the internet.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 28, 2016

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Shimon Peres Passes
Israel former President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres passed away last night at the age of 93. He suffered a stroke two weeks ago and was in a medically induced coma.

Shimon Peres, considered to be one of the last of the founders of the state, played a major role in the history of the State of Israel.

Peres was born Szymon Perski in 1923 in the Polish town of Vishnyeva (now part of Belarus). His father Yitzhak was a wealthy timber merchant and his mother Sara was a librarian and a teacher of Russian.

The family immigrated to the Land of Israel (then Palestine) in 1934. Peres studied at Balfour Elementary School and High School and the Geula Gymnasium (a high school for commerce) in Tel Aviv. At the age of 15, he transferred to the Ben Shemen Agricultural School. In the 1950s, he studied at New York University and later at Harvard University.
 
Between the years 1941 to 1944, Peres served as the national secretary of the “Working and Learning Youth” group. It was while serving in this post that Peres became acquainted with the heads of the Jewish settlement in Palestine and became David Ben-Gurion’s political protégé.
 
In 1947, Peres joined the Haganah, where he was responsible for personnel, defensive acquisitions and military research. In 1949, he was appointed the head of the naval service in the Defense Ministry, and in 1950 he was made the director of the Defense Ministry’s delegation in the United States.

In 1952, Peres returned to Israel and was appointed the deputy director-general of the Defense Ministry. A year later, he was made the director-general. It was as part of this role that he promoted the construction of a nuclear reactor in Dimona, helped develop Israel’s aviation industry, and played an instrumental role in establishing close relations with France.

In 1959, he was elected to the Knesset as a member of Mapai and was appointed the deputy defense minister. Over the next two decades Peres held various ministerial posts and was instrumental in the formation of the Labor part. As defense minister in 1976, he connived then Prime Minister Rabin to launch the famous raid on Entebbe (Operation Thunderbolt).

After Rabin was forced to step down from office in 1977, Peres was appointed as acting Prime Minister and took over the leadership of the Labor party. In that same year Labor, for the first time in its history, lost the election to the Likud and Menachem Begin. It lost to Begin again in 1981.

After the 1984, Peres and Likud’s Yitzhak Shamir agreed to a rotating Prime Ministership, with each man serving a two year term. During his term Peres implemented an Economic Stabilization Plan, which saved the Israeli economy from collapse and reduced the hyperinflation that reached 400% a year. He also oversaw the IDF withdrawal from most of Lebanon. In 1987 he negotiating a peace agreement with Jordan, which was rejected by Shamir because it gave Jordan joint administration over the West Bank with Israel.

In 1988, in the second unity government, Peres served as the deputy prime minister and finance minister. In 1990, Peres attempted to form a narrow government made up of the left-wing factions and the ultra-Orthodox parties. But the move, known as “The Dirty Trick,” failed when the ultra-Orthodox parties backed out, leaving Peres no choice but to resign from the unity government.

In 1992 Yitzhak Rabin replaced Peres as the head of the Labor party and went on to become Prime Minister. Despite the intense rivalry between the two men, Rabin appointed Peres as Foreign Minister. During his term Peres carried out secret negotiations with Yassir Arafat that led to the signing of the Oslo accords. Along with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.

After Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995, Peres became the acting prime minister, as well as the defense minister and the economy and planning minister. In the 1996 elections, in which people voted directly for Prime Minister, Peres lost to Benjamin Netanyahu by a small margin.

Under the Prime Ministership of Ehud Barak in 1999, Peres served as Minister of Regional Cooperation. Under the unity government led by Ariel Sharon in 2001 he served as Foreign Minister and in 2005 as Deputy Prime Minister.

In 2005 Peres left Labor and joined Ariel Sharon’s new Kadima party. He was elected to Knesset in 2006 and appointed Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

In 2007 Peres won the election for President of Israel, and served in that role until 2014. He was known internationally as an ambassador of peace and a proponent of economic development.

Peres was married to Sonya Gelman Peres for 75 years, until her death in 2011. Peres leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

May his memory serve as a blessing.

To see historical and personal photos of Shimon Peres click here.

Leaders Mourn
Israeli leaders along with world leaders mourned the passing of Shimon Peres.

PM Netanyahu said:

“Shimon dedicated his life to the independence of our nation. As a visionary, he looked to the future. As a man of defense, he fortified the strength of Israel in many ways—some remain unknown to this very day. As a man of peace, he worked up to his final days to promote reconciliation with our neighbors and a better future for our children.”

“In his seven years as the president of Israel, he’s done much to unite the people, and the people responded with great love. There aren’t many people in our history who contributed so much to the State of Israel and the people of Israel.”

“I met Shimon for the first time 40 years ago at the grave of my brother Yoni. I will never forget his warm treatment of me, my brother Iddo and my parents, at the time of our loss.”

“And now, Shimon, the beloved of the nation, is saying goodbye to us. But he will never be away from our hearts and memories. Shimon Peres’s name will be forever etched in the story of the Jewish people’s independence, as one of the great leaders and founding fathers of the State of Israel.”

To read what other Israeli leaders said about Peres, click here.

To read what President Obama and other past Presidents and world leaders said, click here.