Amos Oz at Shimon Peres' Funeral: Peace is Achievable, Necessary, and Inevitable

Amos Oz, the renowned leftist writer from Israel, stated during his speech at Shimon Peres' funeral that "peace is achievable; peace is not only possible but necessary and even inevitable... we must divide this land." This prominent author and recipient of numerous global literary awards made these remarks on Friday in the presence of Barack Obama and dozens of leaders from various countries. World leaders, including Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, current and former Presidents of the United States, and prime ministers and royal family representatives from dozens of countries gathered on October 1st to bid farewell to Shimon Peres as he was laid to rest in Jerusalem. Shimon Peres passed away on September 28th at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a stroke. Amos Oz transformed Peres' funeral, an event that the world had seen less of in previous years, into a platform for criticizing the enemies of peace and its opponents. While Bill Clinton and Barack Obama dedicated their speeches at Peres' funeral to his dream of peace, Amos Oz's remarks were direct and candid in criticizing the absence of a peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Benjamin Netanyahu, the right-wing Prime Minister of Israel, who has seen a severe stagnation in peace with the Palestinians during his tenure and has halted previous political talks with them, was an audience for Oz's frank speech. Oz stated, "We Jews are not going anywhere; we have nowhere to go, but we must understand that the Palestinians will not go anywhere either; there is no alternative; we must divide this house; it must be a home for both our families; a home with two apartments for two families that must live together." Amos Oz said, "Deep down in their hearts, all parties know this truth; the division of this land is inevitable." This Israeli writer added, "But we ask ourselves, where are the other brave leaders who will rise and make this dream a reality? Where are the followers of Shimon Peres?" This writer, who opposes Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, stated that he has been a close friend of Shimon Peres for 42 years and added, "Do you know when I became his close friend? When I discovered his most closely guarded secret." Amos Oz recounted, "42 years ago, one night at the entrance of the dining room of Kibbutz 'Holada', we debated for hours about the future of Israel and the lands (after Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza) and I realized he knew what to do; to establish a country for the Palestinians next to Israel." Oz continued, "From that night, when I first understood his most important secret, until two weeks ago when Peres suffered a stroke, my deep conversations with him were a significant part of both our lives." This peace advocate added, "I realized that Peres' thoughts about the lands (the necessity of a country for the Palestinians) were far more important than the secret of his actions regarding Dimona (Israel's nuclear reactor)." Oz continued, "For 42 years, every Friday at five in the afternoon, before 'Shabbat' begins, I and Shimon Peres had long conversations; mostly by phone. Even after his death, this dialogue between me and his intellectual world will continue." He said, "The dialogue of the State of Israel in the intellectual world of Shimon Peres will live on forever." This writer also reminded that many in Israel called Shimon Peres 'naive' for his boundless optimism for peace despite the violent atmosphere of the past decades. Oz stated, "But almost all great people who were ahead of their time and dreamed of a future world appeared naive and even mad until the future arrived and proved their sincerity; this applies to scientists, artists, writers, and also to prominent global politicians." This Israeli writer said, "Today I part from my close friend, who was greater than a dream, and a prominent politician, and a person I deeply loved." Amos Oz, the 77-year-old writer and intellectual, has been at the forefront of the peace movement in Israel for decades and has been one of its most outspoken critics since the Netanyahu government came to power. Oz recently refrained from attending an event organized by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, stating he does not recognize this government. Amos Oz had described Jewish extremists attacking Palestinian homes as "Hebrew neo-Nazis."