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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 9/23/16

The Saga of Sisyphus

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The French recalled Charles de Gaulle to power, and he understood that he had to put an end to the senseless war. Peres continued to laud the alliance which, he announced, was not based on mere interests but on profound common values. I published this speech, sentence by sentence, with my rebuttal to each. I forecast that once the Algerian war was over, France would drop Israel like a hot coal and renew its ties with the Arab world. And that, of course, is exactly what happened. (Israel adopted the US instead.)

One of the fruits of the Suez adventure was the atomic reactor in Dimona. Legend has it that it was given to Israel as a gift by France in gratitude for Peres' services. In reality it was a part of France's deal with Israel, as well as a boost to French industry. Necessary ingredients were obtained in many places by theft and deceit.

Peres was praised in Israel to high heaven. It was praise for a man of war, not peace.

THE CAREER of Peres resembles the legend of Sisyphus, the hero of ancient Greek myth who was condemned by the gods to roll a heavy rock up to the top of a hill, but every time he approached his goal the rock would slip from his hands and roll down to the bottom.

After the Sinai war, Peres' fortunes rose to new heights. The architect of relations with France, the man who had obtained the atomic reactor, was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense and was on his way to become an important member of the cabinet, when everything crashed down. Ben-Gurion insisted on disclosing an odious sabotage affair in Egypt and was deposed by his colleagues. He insisted on founding a new party, called Rafi. Peres, much to his own displeasure, was compelled to join, as, with equal displeasure, did Moshe Dayan.

Ben-Gurion was not active, Dayan did nothing, as usual, and it fell to Peres to campaign. With his usual untiring energy he ploughed the land, but in the elections the party, with all its brilliant stars, won only 10 seats in the 120-member Knesset, and went into impotent opposition. The rock of Peres rolled down to the bottom.

And then came redemption -- almost. Abd-al-Nasser sent his army into Sinai, in Israel panic broke out. The Rafi party joined the government. Peres expected to be appointed Minister of Defense, but at the last moment the charismatic Dayan got the desired job. Israel won a resounding victory in six days, and The Man With The Black Eye-patch became a world celebrity. Poor Peres had to make do with a minor ministry. The rock was down again.

For six years Peres languished, while Dayan sunned himself in the admiration of the world's men, and especially women. And then luck changed again. The Egyptians crossed the Suez canal and gained an incredible initial victory, Dayan crumbled like an earthen idol. After some time both Golda Meir and Dayan were compelled to resign, Peres was the obvious candidate for prime minister.

But the incredible happened again. Out of nowhere there appeared Yitzhak Rabin, the native boy, the victor of the Six-day war. He was chosen Prime Minister, but was compelled to appoint Peres, whom he did not like, as Minister of Defense. The rock was half way up again.

The following years were hell for Rabin. The Defense Minister had only one ambition in life: to humiliate and undermine the Prime Minister. It was a full-time job.

To spite Rabin, Peres did something of historic significance: he created the first Israeli settlements in the middle of the occupied West Bank, starting a process that now threatens Israel's future. The furious Rabin gave him a moniker that has stuck to him since: "The Tireless Intriguer."

A few years later Rabin had to call early elections, because fighter planes obtained from the US arrived in Israel on Friday, too late for the guests of honor to get home without desecrating the Shabbat. The religious factions rebelled. Rabin, of course, headed the party list.

Then something happened. It appeared that after leaving the job of ambassador to the US, Rabin had left behind him in America a bank account -- something that was forbidden at the time. Rabin's wife was accused, Rabin took the blame on himself and resigned, Peres became No. 1 on the list and at long last the rock neared the top of the hill.

On the evening of election day Peres was already celebrating victory, when the wheel abruptly turned during the night. Incredibly, Menachem Begin, considered by many a fascist had won. Down went the rock.

On the eve of the 1982 Lebanon war (during which I met with Yasser Arafat) opposition leaders Peres and Rabin went to see Begin and called on him to invade Lebanon.

Then Begin fell ill with Alzheimer and was succeeded by another former terrorist, Yitzhak Shamir. A kind of interregnum followed, when neither of the two major parties could rule alone. A two-headed rotation-scheme evolved. On one of his stints as Prime Minister, Peres gained undisputed laurels as the man who vanquished Israel's three-digit inflation and instituted the New Shekel, still our coin.[coin currency]

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Uri Avnery is a longtime Israeli peace activist. Since 1948 has advocated the setting up of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In 1974, Uri Avnery was the first Israeli to establish contact with PLO leadership. In 1982 he was the first Israeli ever to meet Yassir Arafat, after crossing the lines in besieged Beirut. He served three terms in the (more...)
 

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