Farewell to a founding father

The passing of former president and prime minister Shimon Peres is practically the only issue that concerns the Hebrew-language print newspapers on Friday, for a second day in a row.

Peres, the last of Israel’s founding fathers, was laid to rest Friday morning at the Mount Herzl national cemetery in Jerusalem with military honors, at a ceremony attended by dignitaries from at least 70 countries among them US President Barack Obama, former US president Bill Clinton, Britain’s Prince Charles, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and regional statesmen such as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Peres died early Wednesday morning at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a major stroke.

“Bidding farewell,” reads Yedioth Ahronoth‘s main headline, a simple message written in white letters over a black background, as if to signify that not many words are needed to describe the wave of grief washing over the country. A somber photo of Bill Clinton paying his respects to Peres, his longtime friend, as his body lies in state at the Knesset on Thursday, is shown alongside a brief description of the expected funeral proceedings for the deceased Israeli leader.

The paper also features a touching eulogy by Peres’s granddaughter Mika Almog, who lovingly describes her impressions of the former Israeli president, both on a personal level and a national one. “My beloved grandfather,” Almog writes. “Even as I stood above your bed and held your hand knowing that this was a goodbye — a clear knowledge, a final one, not up for negotiation — it still was unimaginable. I put my lips to your cheek, heard you breathing, and I thought it was much more likely that you would open your eyes, become annoyed that your trip to China had been canceled, and I would be able to scold you like I did following your heart attack: ‘Tell me, do you only think about yourself? Do you know how hard it is to find parking at the Tel Hashomer Hospital?’ And you would laugh, as you laughed back then.”

Like Yedioth, Israel Hayom too uses only a few words to part with Peres, allowing the pictures of the Israeli leader’s casket to speak instead. “His last path,” reads the daily’s headline. Israel Hayom stresses the number of world leaders and public figures who chose to attend Peres’s funeral, as if to assure the former leader that he is respected and loved across the globe, even in his death. The daily dedicates two full pages to Abbas’s decision to take part in Peres’s funeral, while at the same time making sure to chide Arab-Israeli MKs for failing to issue any sort of eulogy and for deciding not to participate in the official funeral ceremony at Mount Herzl.

Israel Hayom contributor Dror Eydar writes about the lessons he drew from Peres and from his way of life, from showing respect to political adversaries, to standing up for your principles, no matter how many people object to your ways. “I learned from Peres the joy of polemics and arguments with his rivals,” Eydar says. “He believed in the power of the word and in its ability to convince and change the world.”

Haaretz is more reserved in its reports concerning Peres’s passing, opting for a to-the-point description of the funeral plans rather than lingering on the significance of the politician’s life and death. The paper’s contributors and analysts, however, spare no words about Peres, and the daily offers a wide range of opinions and views concerning his life and legacy, with some admiring, and some criticizing.

Writing in the paper, former British prime minister and Quartet head Tony Blair says Peres had the gift of persistence, and never gave up on his dreams and hopes. “Throughout his whole life, he believed with all the optimism inherent to him that his vision for Israel and the world, a vision full of compassion, creative and connected to every level of culture, creed, and race, would become a reality. That is the Shimon I will remember, and the one who will continue to be a source of inspiration for me.”