A leader mourned
Shimon Peres sought peace in the Middle East
Israel, the United States and the world lost a great leader in former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday at 93. He was an intellectual rather than a warrior or politician and, for that reason, never achieved in Israel the heft that would have enabled him to translate into concrete measures the basic optimism inherent in his approach to Israel’s longterm future. He once put it, “Spring is waiting for us at the threshold,” but never quite got there even though he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for trying.
Mr. Peres’ support of “land for peace,” starting in 1984, led him to pursue peace and security for Israel through the 1993 Oslo accords. They never quite worked out either, including transitioning into support for the still-on-the-table twostate resolution of the division of land and authority in Palestine. Mr. Peres led Israel’s Labor Party into five elections but won none.
He was born in what was then Poland and immigrated to Israel at age 11. He was a protege of the first Israeli prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, as well as a first cousin of American actress Lauren Bacall. He lived and sometimes led the evolution of Israel from independence in 1948 to its current situation. In 1987, when he was foreign minister, Mr. Peres visited Pittsburgh to sign an agreement for the exchange of computer and software research between Carnegie Mellon University and five Israeli universities.
Palestinians had mixed feelings about Mr. Peres. He was a founder of Israel’s nuclear program. He was considered by the Palestinians to be one of the more reasonable Israeli leaders but also seen as having blood on his hands. Whether the Palestinian Authority’s acting leader, Mahmoud Abbas, will attend his funeral is not yet clear.
Mr. Peres was listened to and loved by many American interlocutors. It is expected that not only current President Barack Obama but also past President Bill Clinton will attend Mr. Peres’ funeral Friday in Israel. It will be out of admiration and respect, not just in quest of Jewish votes, that world leaders will gather to honor the man in death.