Shimon
Peres, one of the last surviving pillars of Israel’s founding
generation, who did more than anyone to build up his country’s
formidable military might, then worked as hard to establish a lasting
peace with Israel’s Arab neighbors, died on Wednesday Sep 28,2016 in a Tel Aviv area
hospital. He was 93.
His
death was announced by his son Nehemya Peres, who is known as Chemi,
and his personal physician and son-in-law Dr. Rafi Walden, outside the
Sheba Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized for the last two
weeks.
Shimon Peres
died just over two weeks after suffering a stroke. Doctors kept him
largely unconscious and on a breathing tube since then in the hope that
it would give his brain a chance to heal. But he deteriorated as the
nation he once led watched his last battle play out publicly and as
leaders from around the world sent wishes for his recovery.
As
prime minister (twice); as minister of defense, foreign affairs,
finance and transportation; and, until 2014, as president, Mr. Peres
never left the public stage during Israel’s seven decades.
Shimon Peres led the creation of Israel’s defense industry, negotiated key arms
deals with France and Germany and was the prime mover behind the
development of Israel’s nuclear weapons. But he was consistent in his
search for an accommodation with the Arab world, a search that in recent
years left him orphaned as Israeli society lost interest, especially
after the upheavals of the 2011 Arab Spring led to tumult on its
borders.
Historic Handshake
In
his efforts to help Israel find acceptance in a hostile region, Shimon.
Peres’s biggest breakthrough came in 1993, when he worked out a plan
with the Palestine Liberation Organization for self-government in Gaza
and in part of the West Bank, both of which were occupied by Israel.
After
months of secret negotiation with representatives of the P.L.O.,
conducted with the help of Norwegian diplomats and intellectuals, Mr.
Peres persuaded his old political rival Yitzhak Rabin, then the prime
minister, to accept the plan. It became known as the Oslo Accords.
Mr. Peres, who was serving as foreign minister,signed the accords on Sep 13,1993 in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House as Mr. Rabin and
their old enemy Yasir Arafat, the chairman of the P.L.O., looked on and,
with some prodding by President Bill Clinton, shook hands.
It
was a gesture both unprecedented and historic. Up to that time, Israel
had refused to negotiate directly with the P.L.O. Mr. Peres broke the
taboo, and the impasse.
Nobel Prize
Shimaon Peres,Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.
SHIMON PERES: HOW FATHER OF THE NEW ISRAEL HAD AN UNPRECEDENTED SEVEN DECADES IN POLITICS
In an unprecedented seven-decade political career, Shimon Peres has filled nearly every position in Israeli public life.
—Shimon
Perski is born on Aug. 2, 1923 in Vishneva, then part of Poland. He
moves to pre-state Palestine in 1934 with his immediate family and later
enters politics where he becomes a protegé of Israel's founding father
David Ben-Gurion.
—In
1952, at age 29, he becomes the youngest person ever to serve as
director-general of Israel's Defense Ministry. There he is credited with
arming Israel's military almost from scratch and creating what is
widely believed to be a nuclear arsenal.
—In 1959,
Peres is first elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, serving
almost uninterrupted until 2007. He is appointed deputy defense
minister.
—In 1969, he is appointed minister of immigrant absorption, the first in a long line of Cabinet position to follow
—In
1977, he suffers defeat while running for prime minister, losing to
Menachem Begin, whose Likud party rises to power for the first time.
—In
1984, he finally becomes prime minister after tying with Likud's
Yitzhak Shamir and agreeing to share the job in a rotation. As prime
minister, he disentangles Israeli troops from Lebanon and rescues the
economy from triple-digit inflation.
—
In 1992, he becomes foreign minister in the Labor party-led government,
serving under his longtime rival Yitzhak Rabin. Together they work to
forge the first peace accord with the Palestinians and a peace accord
with Jordan. In 1994, they share the Nobel Peace Prize with Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat.
—In
1995, after Rabin is assassinated by a Jewish ultranationalist opposed
to Israel's peace moves, Peres became acting prime minister. Just six
months later he is defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu in elections.
—In
2007, he is elected president, a largely ceremonial role but one that
earns him the kind of national admiration that eluded him throughout his
lengthy career.
—In
2014, Peres completes his presidential term, remaining active at his
peace center until suffering a debilitating stroke on Sept. 13.
