When I heard that Shimon Peres had a stroke, I knew the end was near. Sure, Shimon had managed to survive more than 90 years, several wars, and political infighting. But, a stroke for a nonagenarian is no simple matter. Being in a coma was not a plus.

It reminded me of when we were on a business trip/vacation in San Diego in November 1995. My son, Dan, and I were in our hotel room when my mentor and friend called me up to tell me to turn on the TV. (We were going to Arthur’s house that night for dinner.) Yitchak Rabin had just been assassinated at a political rally.

I had the pleasure of sharing two meals with Yitchak and Shimon some six months before that fateful day. I was part of a delegation of American businessfolks and entrepreneurs (there is a vast difference between these two terms) that were essaying to build new companies that would employ both Israelis and Palestinians, with factories and plants on the “green line”. (The “green line” was the temporary (their term, not mine) dividing line between Israel and Jordan [NOT Palestine] after the 1948 wars for independence.) It would help cement the peace that should have burgeoned between these two peoples.

How I got to be at the same table on the beach in Chaifa (Haifa) with them still eludes me. Perhaps, it was because I was able to speak Hebrew fluently (not that either of them had any problems with English). But, honestly, I have no clue.

We spoke about the chances for peace, for the actions upon which we were embarking that would help the cause, and for the types of businesses that would best serve the cause. And, the follow-up meal helped hone in on the actions to be taken next.

Except Rabin was murdered. Leaving our plans as just that.

But, there was one sentence Rabin uttered that has always stuck with me; his goal. To never have to visit another Jewish mother to tell her that her son was killed fighting the Arabs. (My translation of his words in Hebrew.) Shimon was of a similar mind.  Shimon instituted the Peres Center for Peace the second he was out of office;  the mission (which matched that of the Israeli mission I was on)- promote  tolerance, economic and technological development, cooperation and well-being among the peoples of the Middle East.

Rabin was a statesman after he turned in his stars.  (This is true for so many Israelis, mostly due to universal conscription, but also because the Israeli military trains the best leaders.) Rabin retired as a general- serving in the Palmach and the IDF. In fact, he was the general that oversaw the 6 Day War. Prosecuted right before my first visit to Israel.

While Rabin was born in Jerusalem, Peres was an immigrant- one whose aptitude and speaking ability was recognized by Ben Gurion (the first Prime Minister of Israel; and its leader before it was a nation, too) early on. Besides working at Ben Gurion’s side, Peres helped develop the Navy, a military supplier (the one now responsible for the Iron Dome), and the construction of Dimona (the Israeli nuclear reactor). But, Shimon spent the rest of his life working towards that goal of peace between Jew and Arab.  He had even negotiated with King Hussein of Jordan (1987) to transfer the West Bank to their control- but the agreement never got signed.

My favorite Israeli author said it best.  Amos Oz’ eulogy averred:  “There are some who say that peace is not possible.  But peace is not only possible, it is an eluctable necessity.”

It’s hard to recognize that Israel is barely older than I. And, with the passing of Peres, the last of the founding fathers of Israel, the institutional history of the nation will be changed forever.

Imagine how it felt in America on the 4th of July, 1826. When within hours of one another, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died- on the 50th anniversary of the nation they brought to life.

ברוך דיין אמת  -Baruch Dayan Emet         Blessed is the True Judge                 written in Hebrew 

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