Relieved That Shimon Peres in No Longer With The Living

photo I took of Shimon Peres

OK, for all those who kept telling me to wait until after the burial, or after Rosh Hashanah or after Yom Kippur for writing how I really feel about the death of Shimon Peres, here it is:

Yes, I'm relieved that Shimon Peres was taken by Gd before the beginning of the new Jewish Year 5777. Peres's death, stroke etc. is the sort that is totally a decision of Gd Almighty. The doctors did their best to give him a chance to live longer, and Gd gave him time to repent, if that was his desire. And even with a delayed goyishe-style funeral and placing the coffin in public display for the day before, it still left time for Peres to be buried before the end of 5776 and Rosh Hashanah 5777.

photo I took of Shimon Peres

For decades, Shimon Peres had been the world's most popular Israeli. When Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated, he got the accolades, but the Israeli whom the "world" really listened to was Peres. Peres was a master at "old world" charm, while Rabin was too much the Israeli sabra for that. Menachem Begin also had the "charm," but too many people feared his his politics. Remember that the international media, like the Israeli one, is extremely Leftist and elitist, so Shimon Peres talked their talk and walked their walk, while Menachem Begin unabashedly spoke of Jewish Rights and the wrongs done to the Jewish People.

I met both of them, and Begin's "old world" mannerisms, kissing women's hands and warm smile included caring eyes, while Peres's smile, voice and posture were very cold and calculating. I never felt that Peres cared, while I had no doubt that Menachem Begin sincerely felt for people. And just to make it clear, if you don't know, I stopped politically supporting Menachem Begin once he began his Camp David decision to give Egypt the Sinai and destroy the Jewish communities that had been built there.

Let's go back a generation to delve into Shimon Peres's international popularity. The key was his success in convincing then Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin to accept the Oslo Agreement, even though it was an illegal, immoral rogue operation without the support of the Israeli Government. Yes, instead of jailing the perpetrators led by Yossi Beilin who had secretly by their own initiative negotiated the dangerous deal, Shimon Peres got Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin to approve it.

It was via the Oslo Accords that Yasser Arafat was rescued from his exile, set up as Palestinian sic leader, and weapons were given to his so-called police. Basically, the terrorist Arafat was given a "state in the making," which has become the world's largest magnet for money and subsequent corruption, besides officially supporting terror against Israelis.

Ever since Shimon Peres's success in bamboozling Yitzchak Rabin, the world has treated Peres as Israel's most important and powerful politician, regardless of his official titles or lack of any. And when Peres held the officially non-policy position of President of Israel, he took advantage of it and spoke and acted as if he had political and policy powers.

Many of us here in Israel were extremely relieved when his term in office had officially ended. But his influence over the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the media, here and abroad, didn't end when he left office. Nothing stopped Peres from meeting diplomats, press and talking policy. And even now that he's buried, his fans use his name to try to convince Israel of what they want us to do. That's what American President Barack Hussein Obama did when he spoke at Peres's funeral. It doesn't bother any of them that in Israel's democratic process, Peres never succeeded in leading a political party to victory. There is no direct election of Prime Minister here; it was tried once, and when Likud's Binyamin Netanyahu was easily elected, the Leftists got the law repealed.

I hope I'm not overly optimistic when I say that I don't see Peres's popularity here in Israel growing after his death. Peres was popular with the Left, but he left the rest of us cold. Now it's time for him to try to negotiate with Gd about his true legacy. And we in the Land of the Living must do what is best for the Jewish People and not care about what the world thinks. That is the only way to keep our Eternal Light burning, Gd willing.