Don't run, Shimon, don’t run

President Shimon Peres — don't run. Don't listen to those who claim to have your and the country's best interests at heart. Indeed, I very much would like to see this bad government replaced. I'm convinced that in the long term its existence and grip on power pose a threat to the Jewish people and the state. However, those who have asked to hitch you to the replacement wagon are doing you and Israeli society a grave injustice.

We often haven't seen eye to eye, but I always held your wisdom and dedication in the highest regard. After many years in which you represented a political camp, and did so with honor, you were chosen to be the president of Israel. You've earned wall-to-wall support from the Jewish and Arab public. Your mere presence in the president's office is an asset to the state and its citizens and improves Israel's standing in the world.

I don't know if an alternative government can win the majority of votes. It's very likely this isn't possible. But your joining the race won't reverse this trend. You will once again head a camp of political division, and it is a mistake to think that the esteem in which you are held as president would resonate into your nomination to lead the country.

Moreover, aside from Labor Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid and Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Gal-on, former Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni may also head a specific camp.

It's possible that a coalition would block the political and diplomatic path we are on today, but the advantages of an elderly president are quite clear and apparent to all.

A candidate for prime minister needs certain characteristics to convince the public: He must be of sound mind and body, and must be able to enter the cauldron of pressures and make decisions of a different nature than those a president makes.

Don't run, Shimon, and don't give in to those pressuring you who believe that bringing you on board will shake the political foundations. You've fought your whole life for your beliefs. Sometimes you were wrong, sometimes right. You abandoned your party, to its detriment and to yours. Today everyone is united behind you. The desire to stop Netanyahu and Lieberman is understandable and legitimate. But things must be conducted in a democratic and wise manner.

The problems with returning to governance are not virtual; they are real. The country hasn't undergone a positional metamorphosis, it has simply changed. It is more diverse; the right-wing and religious camp is growing demographically.

On the other hand, the external and internal challenges facing the country require fighting for change. The struggle will not succeed or fail because of one prestigious father figure, but because of a change of positions stemming from a different viewpoint of reality and through building a new leadership.

The Right, which has gained momentum in recent years, is wrong. The struggle against it is valid and strong, and is derived from believing in a path, not from a sense of desperation. A new spirit is pulsating among the people. The social justice protest has perhaps left its tents on Rothschild Boulevard, but it is alive and kicking in the public consciousness and has sprouted renewed energies.

This way is preferable to repositioning the president of Israel to become the leader of the opposition party, which would be a cardinal sin.

Thus, my request — don't run, Shimon. Don't go backward. Stay on the grand path you are on.

טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו