Peres II – The son’s eulogy

Why do we need to hear the ruminations of dead people’s family members? The media love to give space to the parents and widows of accident, crime or war victims, who, surprise, surprise, inform the world what amazing, gifted, world-loving, full of potential, etc. young men and women their dead children had been.   

Immediately after Peres’ death was announced, his son saw fit to inform world media that his father had "worked tirelessly for Israel - from the first day of the state to the last day of his life… His sole focus was to serve until his last breath the people of Israel who he so loved…the loss we feel today is that of the entire nation.”

Not to be outdone, Peres’ son-in-law also gave a long tribute. Just in case we did not yet know, he spoke of how much the world’s grandees all loved and admired his deceased father-in-law.

In the case of a politician, it is simply ridiculous to get family members views and analysis of the man as a public persona. When it comes to people who one has never heard of before and who only appear in the public media because of the circumstances of their death, broadcasting the emotional ponderings of their next of kin is there but to serve the public’s unattractive voyeurism.  

Hypocrisy

Israel’s President, 90 year-old Shimon Peres, takes pleasure in pathos and speaks to the dead Sharon: “On your forehead, there were victories of steel and golden hope.” 

Let him be poetic if he so wishes. But why, when an 85 year-old man dies after lying in coma for 8 years, why does he speak of “Arik Sharon, today lost an heroic battle for his life. … We all loved him.” What exactly was heroic in his death? And by the way, Mr. Peres, we did not all love him.   

It is not hypocrisy, the man is in love with his own words and most likely, believes them. 

And one more thing: Arik Sharon was not a religious man. Shimon Peres is not a religious man and does not normally wear a skullcap. The area in front of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is not a synagogue. So why is the man wearing a skullcap? Sucking up to the religious? It is sadly a creeping process that has enveloped Israel.