Shimon Peres, Israel’s former longtime president and two-time prime minister, appeared at a gala for top funders of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles on Feb. 11 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. In an onstage conversation with Sharon Nazarian, Peres did not talk about current events, including Iranian nuclear ambitions or the hot topic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans for a March 3 speech before a Joint Session of Congress in Washington, D.C. The subject of the Israeli Prime Minister, who is in the midst of an election campaign in Israel, did not come up at all in fact.
Instead, Peres, seated across from Nazarian and in front of a trio of flags from Israel, the United States and California, reminisced about the founding of the State of Israel and dished about his fellow founding statesmen – including David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin— all now deceased. He called Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, the “greatest leader of the 20th century.
Peres also offered advice about how to remain young in spirit and live life Jewishly: “Count the dreams of your mind; if the numbers of the dreams exceeds the number of achievements, you are young,” the 91-year-old, who was in town for several private L.A. Federation events, said.
The audience of approximately 300 gave Peres a standing ovation as he entered the room at around 7:15 p.m., and, during the 40-minute conversation, appeared to enjoy the easy manner in which Peres talked about his life, which includes one of politics’ most illustrious careers.
Peres insisted he has never been afraid throughout his long life, when Nazarian, an adjunct professor for political science at UCLA and the founder of the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, urged him to discuss personal fears.
“I don’t think I was ever scared.”
“That’s amazing,” she responded.
“It’s not amazing. I think everybody can behave the same way. Unfortunately, there’s great fear in our time,” Peres said, then elicited laughs when he added: “I thought all my life that optimists and pessimists pass away the same way, so why be a pessimist?”
Perhaps, the most amusing part of the evening came when Nazarian asked Peres to say the first thing that came to mind as she mentioned deceased leaders Ben-Gurion, Begin, Rabin and Meir. Peres, a living link to the founding of Israel, spent more time during this segment talking about Ben-Gurion than any of the others, recalling when Ben-Gurion took him, then a 24-year-old kibbutznik, under his wing and showed him what true leadership is.
“All his life, he just wanted one thing, the establishment of a Jewish state,” Peres said of Ben-Gurion.
He recalled Meir, Israel’s first and, to this day, only female prime minister, with glowing words, as well. Noting her strength in the face of the Yom Kippur War, Peres said he and Israeli leaders used to call Meir “the only man in the [Israeli] cabinet.” That remark, of course, also won laughs.
As for Begin, the only leader Peres discussed in both positive and negative terms, due to their political differences: Peres was a left-wing Labor Zionist – as was Rabin – while Begin founded the right-wing Likud party, which is also the party of Netanyahu. Lauding Begin for signing of a historic peace deal with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, Peres also criticized Begin’s party for relying too much on speeches over action.
Meanwhile, he acknowledged that he’d had many disagreements with Rabin during their many years working together, but called Rabin a “straightforward man…who spoke to the point and tried to look at facts as they are.”
Looking outside his country, Peres praised Pope Francis, calling him “the first pope who really is a friend of Israel.”
And, when Nazarian asked what advice he has for young people today who find themselves ambivalent about Israel, Peres did not reply directly, but said the main thing parents need to ensure is that their children love Judaism, which means adhering to the “moral code” of the Ten Commandments, Peres said. He also advised parents to raise children who are intellectually curious.
“If you are becoming satisfied, you are in danger of not being Jewish,” he said.
The evening also featured an appearance from an Israeli resident of Sderot, Michal Kakoon, who has experienced frequent attacks from Gaza. Kakoon told of how L.A. Federation’s assistance has helped ease post-traumatic stress conditions caused by Israel’s 2014 war with Hamas. She appeared in dialogue with Aaron Goldberg, senior vice president of L.A. Federation’s Israel office.
“Sderot is my home,” Kakoon responded, when Goldberg asked why she continues to live in such a dangerous and vulnerable region of Israel.
Federation President and CEO Jay Sanderson and philanthropist Julie Platt, the organization’s general campaign chair, also offered remarks. Sanderson highlighted the role that the Federation serves, and will continue to play, in the Jewish community, while Platt, among other things, spoke of the work the Federation does overseas to help Jews in need, including in Ukraine and in Paris, France.
“Tonight as we listen to the … history of the State of Israel from one of the greatest leaders of the Jewish people ever, President Shimon Peres, we want to think about the future, as well,” Sanderson said.
The evening was put on for the King David Society, donors who pledge above $25,000 to Federation. Event chairs were Alison and Gary Diamond, Laurie Gray and Steve Gordon, Sheila and Aaron Leibovic, and Ellen and Richard Sandler. Attendees included Nazarian’s parents, Younes and Soraya Nazarian. Philanthropist Eli Broad had been scheduled to introduce Peres, but Broad and his wife, Edith, did not attend due to Eli Broad feeling “under the weather,” according to Federation chairperson Les Bider, who introduced Peres in his place. “This is a man whose personal story is deeply interwoven with the story of the State of Israel…if Israel were to have a Mount Rushmore, certainly he would be on it,” Bider said.
