Peres

In the IHT of February 15, 2007, Mr H.D.S. Greenway writes in Keeping talks kosher that he recently talked with ”Israel’s statesman” Shimon Peres. During that interview Peres considered the attitude of the Saudi’s during the recent conference about Palestine “not kosher”.
It is interesting to see what other Israeli statesmen have to say about this Nobel Peace Price winner:
- Persisting, obstinate and proverbially patient, Peres was second to none in his talent for political manoeuvring and manipulation. An indefatigable master of subversion (Rabin).
- As a matter of fact, the Shimon Peres of the 1990’s was never really the political ‘dove’ that he pretended to be. Years after he was granted the Nobel Peace Price for the Oslo agreement, he was still opposed to the idea of an independent Palestinian state. (…) As Rabin’s minister of defence in the 1970’s he positioned himself as an undisguised hawk.
- The following eight months of Shimon Peres’ premiership were an utter disaster and a political calamity.

The last two quotes are by Shlomo Ben-Ami from his book Scars of War, Wounds of Peace. Shlomo Ben-Ami was a.o. Israel’s Minister of Public Affairs and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid peace conference. Later, as Foreign Minister in Ehud Barak’s government, he took part in the Camp David summit and led the Israeli team in the Taba peace conference.