I'll Never Forget What Shimon Peres Said When He Spoke in Ottawa in March 1993

I have just learned of the passing of former Israeli Prime Minister & President Shimon Peres. His passing does not surprise me following a stroke he sustained two weeks ago which took a turn for the worse today. Peres was 93.

In March 1993, I got the opportunity to meet Peres when he visited Canada. At the time, Peres was Minister of Foreign Affairs in Yitzhak Rabin's cabinet. I was attending Carleton University and was working as a parliamentary intern for Iain Angus who was then a NDP MP from my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Knowing my passion for Israel, Iain arranged for me to attend the Canada-Israel Committee Parliamentary Dinner at the National Conference Center just down the road from Parliament Hill.

Seated at my table were former NDP leader Ed Broadbent and Canadian Labour Congress President Bob White. A who's who of Canadian politics was there including Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. But my eyes were fixed on Shimon Peres and I would get a chance to meet him very briefly.

What I remember the most about that evening was something Peres said during his remarks. Let's remember that he and Rabin were in the midst of negotiating with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat with the aid of the Clinton Administration. Peres said, "Negotiation is not so much a matter of convincing the other side as it is convincing your own."

Six months later, Peres and Rabin were shaking hands with Arafat in the Rose Garden. Two years later, Rabin would his life at the hands of an Israeli (something I predicted would happen). Sadly, Peres and Rabin weren't able to convince all Israelis of their position.

Of course, Arafat's word turned out to be meaningless and his successor Mahmoud Abbas is no better. But Peres and Rabin had to give it a try. They negotiated in good faith and got burned at both ends.

Nevertheless there is truth in what Peres said that night. Any country that is truly committed to the democratic ideal will must expend a good faith effort to convince their citizenry of its aims and objectives and the policies which derive from these aims and objectives. Unfortunately, most democratic nations fall short of this standard. But Peres did his best to meet this standard. Israelis didn't always appreciate him for it, but I think there is a understanding that Shimon Peres was an honest man of good character. Something that is sadly in short supply within our borders.

R.I.P.