Shimon Peres, No Room for Small Dreams: Courage, Imagination, and the Masking of Modern Israel (New York: Harper Collins, 2017. 227 pages. (aff)
Biographies are my favorite books to read, and biographies about leaders are my favorite type of biography. No Room for Small Dreams is an autobiography. The value of first-person accounts is that they include the subject’s thoughts and motives. The downside is that they reveal only what the person wants the reader to know and typically neglect anything that paints the subject in a bad light. The challenge, then, is finding a completely honest autobiography. Perhaps few are.
Shimon Peres played an important role in the early days of the modern state of Israel. Certainly, enormous controversy has surrounded the nation of Israel since before its inception. But regardless of one’s political or religious views on the subject, one cannot help but admire the courage and tenacity many of Israel’s leaders have exhibited.
Peres was an interesting figure, because he was as much of a philosopher and poet as a political leader. He was not necessarily a hardened warrior like Moshe Dayan. He was born in Europe near the meeting point of Poland and Russia (1). Peres’ grandfather was a respected Rabbi who exerted a great influence on him, ultimately leading him to become more devout religiously than his parents were (5). In 1932, his father faced financial ruin because of the anti-Semitic laws of the day, so he traveled to Israel to investigate immigrating. Peres’ grandparents chose to remain in Europe, feeling they had an obligation to the people of their village. That decision led to their deaths a few years later when Nazis herded the village’s Jews into the synagogue and lit it on fire. Peres’ grandfather apparently sang a Jewish prayer for the inhabitants as they were being engulfed by flames (7).
Peres joined a Kibbutz as a teenager, which is where he learned how to work and fight. And like many people his age, he became involved in politics. A fortuitous meeting with David Ben Gurion changed the course of his life (18). Gurion, the national hero, took Peres under his wing and utilized Peres’ skills during the war for independence. In 1947, Peres was tasked with finding weapons for the Jewish soldiers. At the outset they had only 5,000 troops and few weapons. On May 14, 1948, Israel announced it was a sovereign state. On May 15, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq invaded Israel with the intent of destroying it.
Peres grew accustomed to criticism. Many wondered why Ben Gurion relied so much on the youthful Peres who had not even completed high school. Gurion offered three reasons. First, Peres never lied. Second, he never spoke unkindly about others. Third, whenever Gurion knocked on his door, Peres had a new idea (49). After the war, Peres moved to New York to complete his education and continue his efforts to gather weapons for Israel.
Over the course of Peres’ life, he played a key role in the development of modern Israel. He took the lead in developing Israel’s modern aviation industry. At a time when Israel could not provide enough food for everyone, he understood that Israel had to be able to build and service its own planes. He claimed, “. . . yet I knew we could never achieve great things if we let austerity become an obstacle to audacity” (60). Peres also observed, “I’d come to believe that when you have two alternatives, the first thing you must do is look for a third—the one you didn’t think of, that didn’t yet exist” (61).
Peres was involved in many of Israel’s most influential decisions and events. He took the lead in developing Israel’s nuclear program. He reached out to France so Israel would have a major ally that could supply some much-needed resources. Though Peres’ diplomatic skills enabled him to win many victories for Israel, they often set him at odds with critics within his own government or country. He repeatedly overcame others’ objections in order to obtain what he believed to be critical advances for his country.
Regarding the criticism he received for trying to develop a nuclear program, he observed, “But I also learned that there is a cost to dreaming” (78). He concluded, “I knew of no way to become someone else, and so I chose to be myself. I decided that accomplishment mattered more than credit” (78).
Peres was eventually elected to government. He was intricately involved in liberating Jewish hostages at the Entebbe airport in Uganda. As prime minister, he addressed the enormous financial problems that burdened the nation and helped move it toward capitalism and away from socialism (163). He also took the lead in seeking peace with the Jordanians and Palestinians. In later life, he promoted investment in technology and business in Israel.
In this book, Peres makes many interesting statements about leadership. He observed, “A decision can be right even if it leads to failure” (143). He makes several other powerful statements, including the following: “We learned that the treasures hidden in ourselves are far greater than anything that can be found in the ground” (148). “I have never been one to believe that the best course of action was a retreat from risk” (154). “One does not make peace with one’s friends. If peace is what we seek, we must have the courage to pursue it with our enemy” (186). “History, after all, is a powerful antidote to a cynical view of the world” (215). “Optimism and naïveté are not the same thing” (218). “Unlike territory, science has no border or flags . . . in fact, great scientific achievement by one nation lifts the fortunes of all nations. It is the first time in history that we can win, without making anyone lose” (222). “In today’s world, the separation between generations is wider than the separation between nations” (223). “Nonetheless, the trend is unmistakable. Wars are gradually being rendered futile . . . and though despots have the power to kill thousands, they do not have the power to kill an idea” (224).
Peres came to view the younger generation as the key to peace and prosperity. Tens of millions of young people in the Middle East have cell phones and access to the Internet. Peres believed that as Israel experiences prosperity and shares it with the surrounding nations, people will realize that they have far more to gain from peace than from bloodshed. Peres has often been accused of being a naïve dreamer. At times, his dreams were jarred dramatically, such as when Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated at the close of a massive peace rally. Nevertheless, Peres enjoyed enough enormous accomplishments to prove that his was not always wishful thinking.
One cannot help but admire this man’s tenacity, skill, and insight. Because he lists his accomplishments, the book can at times appear to be self-serving. He seems to experience success most of the time, at least eventually. He does mention a few of his failures. He alludes to losing at times in politics. He admits that people like Golda Meir never really liked him. I, for one, would be interested in his family life. He mentions his marriage and the births of his children, but he gives scant information about his home life. As something of an idealist, perhaps he focused on the largest issues and achievements and overlooked many of his disappointments and hurts.
At the close of his life, many world leaders sang Peres’ praise. He was obviously highly respected. Despite working to develop Israel’s military power, he came to believe the key to peace was science and the sharing of ideas. Perhaps his belief was somewhat naïve in the sense that religious fanaticism does not respond to reason or kindness as one would often hope. Nonetheless, Peres stands out as someone who served time in the tough trenches of warfare but hoped for newer, more enlightened approaches in the future.
I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the modern nation of Israel. It certainly takes a Jewish perspective of events, but that perspective must be understood if one is to grasp the situation in the Middle East today.
Before his death, Peres concluded, “I don’t regret any of my dreams. My only regret is not having dreamed more” (225).
Rating: 3
