Celebrating Peres, but not the personality cult that surrounds him - Opinion - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper
▻http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/celebrating-peres-but-not-the-personality-cult-that-surrounds-him.premium-1
While I admire the Peres vision of peace and normalization, I am repulsed by the insane personality cult surrounding him. I turn my face away from it all in shame and embarrassment. Already on his 80th birthday a decade ago I was amazed at the who’s who gathering that was organized in his honor at Tel Aviv’s Culture Square. Who could have anticipated what was in store for us at the 90th celebrations?
Given the present fete, I would have gladly embraced the previous one. Every time Yonit Levi of Channel 2 announces the celebratory live broadcast awaiting us I feel a lump stuck in my throat. The list of invitees includes: Bill Clinton, Barbara Streisand, Shlomo Artzi, Tony Blair, Eyal Golan. And, of course, his royal highness, who insisted on inviting Rona Ramon and Karnit Goldwasser (widows of astronaut Ilan Ramon and IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser who was abducted and killed by Hezbollah at the onset of the first Lebanon war). In his modesty, Peres asked that no presents be brought.
The psychological explanation for all this is clear. After many controversial decades, of constantly being an electoral loser and a target of tomato throwers in Beit Shemesh, Peres is clinging to the current era as Mr. Consensus. This is understandable and even touching. However, since these are not private celebrations but a national event, it is imperative to stress two points: the disconnectedness and the ego.
