By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM–Shimon Peres is one of the greatest presidents Israel has ever had. Even the Israeli public that so mistrusted him in his long career as a politician has come to appreciate the dignity he bestows on the many ceremonial events he attends and the good image of Israel he projects abroad. At 88 he remains agile, articulate and erudite. Even the alienation and passing of his wife doesn’t seem to have diminished him.
But Israelis are still wondering whether he has been weaned from meddling in matters that shouldn’t be a president’s domain. Thus when Ha’aretz reported that he would tell President Obama when he sees him next week in Washington that he’s against Israel attacking Iran, it was assumed that such a responsible newspaper wouldn’t invent the story but that it must have been leaked, probably from the president’s office, as a way of warning Netanyahu and reassuring Obama.
This would be consistent with Peres’ general stance. For example, he was opposed to Israel taking out the atomic reactor in Iraq when Menachem Begin was prime minister. There’re those who say that he acted disloyally even then when he warned the French ahead of time thus nearly aborting the operation. Perhaps he’s really opposed to a similar attack on Iran now and is canvassing support for his view. The late Yitzhak Rabin, his colleague and foe, called Peres a subversive. Has he changed?
Then came the speculations: was the story leaked in order to take sides in the debate and curb the alleged trigger happy Ehud Barak? If it was, it worked. Barak responded publicly and castigated Peres for invading his territory.
Or was it a ploy coordinated with Netanyahu’s office because Netanyahu doesn’t know how to stand up to Barak? In this way Peres could play the good cop who doesn’t have any power while the prime minister, who has clout, can be the bad cop. (The fact that Obama is going to see both within a few days is in itself interesting.)
It didn’t take long for Peres to deny the whole story. But Ha’aretz is a serious and responsible newspaper: is the denial part of the plot, too? It was made by Peres in the course of his address to the Presidents’ Conference, the representative body of US Jewry, at its annual meeting in Jerusalem. In his speech, Peres very much towed the official line mouthing the usual cliché that “all options are on the table.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean that he believes it. He may have just found it expedient to say what he did. Once a crafty politician, always a crafty politician
What’s worrying in all this is that nobody in Israel seems to be in charge and that’s why Peres feels compelled to step out of his ceremonial cum representative role to offer unsolicited leadership. Perhaps he’s worried, to paraphrase Scripture, that “the conciliatory voice is the voice of Netanyahu, but the harsh hands are the hands of Barak,”
In order to fill the vacuum and because he’s addicted to machinations, Peres may want to take the lead. His experience in political maneuvering and his enviable standing in the world, including in the White House, gives him a great advantage.
I’m among those who would like to believe in the Peres Ha’aretz reported. But he may be saying what he told the Presidents’ Conference because he thinks that an attack is indeed likely and he doesn’t want to be left out in the cold. That, of course, is cause for great concern.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Now dividing his time between Canada and Israel, he may be contacted at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com