Let's be honest. Giving others credit and encouragement is not a character trait we Israelis are renowned for. It is much easier for us to put people down, criticize, blame and watch others fall. Then we rub our hands together with satisfaction and say, "well deserved." The events surrounding the president's 90th birthday gave many people nausea. It's hard for some people to watch the world's most famous and admired Israeli receive so much honor. They can't stand it when former President U.S. Bill Clinton comes to Israel to pay him homage. It irks them to watch Barbra Streisand singing for Peres and enveloping him in a warm hug. Not to mention Sharon Stone and Robert De Niro. "How can it be-" these Israelis ask themselves as they eat their hearts out watching Peres showered with accolades and adoration. After all, it's not like we have a nuclear reactor in Dimona thanks to this special and unique man. It's not as though he was responsible for the generous military support from France in the days of Charles de Gaulle. In fact, thanks to Peres, we emerged from the terrible economic crisis of the 1980's. The man has many, many achievements to his name. Not to mention how he restored the honor of the presidency after it was debased by former President Moshe Katsav. Accompanying Peres on his recent trip to France, I was impressed by the love he encountered everywhere he went. I saw how well he was treated by the heads of state, how much respect they gave him. True, there is something insensitive about throwing an expensive party at the same time the Finance Ministry is enacting painful economic measures. True, there was a bit too much ostentation. There was also something foreign and un-Israeli about the guest list. The artists who performed could have been more carefully chosen. For instance, the old-school Givatron could have performed instead of Eyal Golan and Shlomo Artzi. The tasteless comedy routine of Adi Ashkenazi was also something we could have done without.
But these are small criticisms. What I heard in the Knesset on Wednesday -- Why didn't they mention Peres' political failures? Why didn't they mention the "stinking maneuver" [Peres' controversial deal-making in 1990 that enabled him to topple the government]? Why didn't they mention the late Yitzhak Rabin's description of Peres as an "unrelenting machinator-" -- that's just sour grapes.
