THE JEWISH NEWS
THIS ISSUE 60c
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
MAY 22, 1987 / 23 IYAR 5747
The Rise And Fall
Of Shimon Peres
On the verge of his greatest political triumph,
Israel's Foreign Minister has suffered
perhaps his worst defeat
HELEN DAVIS
Special to The Jewish News
Jerusalem — At the very time
that Gary Hart was admitting that
his campaign to become president of
the United States had been fatally
flawed, serious questions were being
raised about the ability of Shimon
Peres ever again to be prime minister
of Israel.
There were, to be sure, no
similarities in the substance of the
issues which entangled the two men:
Gary Hart faced charges of sexual
misconduct; Shimon Peres had failed
to carry through on a pledge to resign
from Israel's national unity govern-
ment over a matter of high principle.
What bound Hart and Peres inex-
tricably together in their widely dif-
fering predicaments, however, was
that the minds of their respective con-
stituents had become concentrated on
ANALYSIS
that most supreme of all political
qualities: credibility.
Both men were tested; both were
found wanting. Shimon Peres, the
wunderkind prodigy of Israel's found-
ing father, David Ben-Gurion, had
spent a political lifetime attempting
to erase the large doubts that hung
over his credibility — and his
suitability for high office.
An entire mythology had grown
up — particularly among the Orien-
tal Jews who form a solid bloc behind
BOMBS
AWAY
46
Shimon Peres: A bitter loss.
the Likud banner — about the per-
sonal lifestyle, the concealed wealth
and the unbridled political ambitions
of the Labor Party leader. The rumors
were unfounded, but Peres as a cold,
sinister, manipulative, Nixon-like
figure persisted in the Israeli
consciousness.
For awhile, he seemed to have
scored a stunning turnaround. Just
six months ago, when he handed over
the reins of power to his Likud coali-
tion partner, Yitzhak Shamir, opinion
polls showed him to be the most
popular prime minister in Israel's
history. Peres — the consummate
backroom operator — had, it seemed,
finally shed the tricky-dealer image
that had dogged his entire political
career. His achievements were indeed
Continued on Page 18
Births
78
Business
51
Cooking
66
Engagements
74
Entertainment
55
Inside Washington
Obituaries
32
21, 105
Single Life
81
Synagogues
36
Women
34
Youth
65
CANDLELIGHTING 8:34 P.M.
With his low-key,
folksy style, Marty
Kraar has the
Federation helm