Peres: Ahmadinejad a shame upon Iranian history

The Jerusalem Post, Israel has a new war on its hands according to President Shimon Peres.

"Now we face not a military attack, but a diplomatic attack, because the diplomatic mood in the world is on the side of peace and they expect us to conclude it," Peres on Wednesday told the Conference of Presidents of Major American Organizations convening at the Inbal
hotel in Jerusalem.

Israel is demonized at the United Nations, he said, and while the United Nations does not decide Israel's future, it does attack Israel.

"We have to adapt our policies to the new atmosphere," said Peres.

The new atmosphere also includes the upheavals taking place in the Middle East. Relating to recent and ongoing events in various countries in the region Peres said: "We are entering a new chapter, a different destiny of the Middle East." The change he said was "remarkable, not more of the same. This time it really is different,it's totally different."

Peres characterized the new developments as a rebellion rather than a revolution, because they were not driven by the army, by religion, by a political party or by government.

Focusing specifically on Egypt, Peres said: "It wasn't organized at all. It was a revolt without leaders."

In the perception of the President, it was poverty more than anything else that had sparked the rebellion.

Poverty is not new, he acknowledged. What was new in this groundswell of unrest was communication, such as Facebook and Twitter which provided a voice for the wounded and which conveyed an urgent agenda.

Peres did not speculate on what will happen next, but warned that a change in regime does not guarantee a change in the situation, especially in a country such as Egypt, where the population keeps multiplying at a rapid pace and where everything depends on the Nile.

The Muslim Brotherhood can not make the country successful, he said. The essential problem is how to provide economic growth when there is a growing population. It can be done, said Peres, citing as examples India, China and Indonesia, "but the key to change is joining the 21st century."

In the case of Egypt, it has go forward from old agricultural traditions to a system of science and technology. Israel is a very good example of this, Peres underscored. "We don't have land or water, but we have agriculture based on high technology."

Turning to the seeds of discontent in Iran, Peres declared Iran to be "among the most corrupt countries in the world", and stated that the world must make a choice between Iran and Egypt. Whereas the revolution in Egypt had been relatively non-violent, in Iran, he said, one could see on television that lawmakers were urging the judiciary to" kill the opposition". Such people bring shame on Iranian history and culture, said Peres.

Anticipating the demise of the current Iranian regime, Peres said: Iran will be stopped not by money, but by its own people."

With regard to the democratization of the Middle East, Peres noted that democracy cannot be introduced to non-democratic countries without getting rid of existing leaders. "Otherwise it's like inviting a turkey to a thanksgiving party," he said.

He also cautioned that it will be difficult to introduce democracy to countries in which there continues to be discrimination against women. In such countries, husbands don't want democracy, he said. "If you don't have it at home, you perpetuate ignorance and poverty."

A tireless advocate for technology as a weapon against poverty, and even against violence, Peres opined that without Internet and Facebook, the waves of social unrest that are moving across the region would never have happened. "The greatest weapon of the revolution is
the iPhone."

But aside from the iPhone are those aspects of high tech that can provide relief from hunger. "All countries that abuse democracy but open their arms to high tech should be given a chance to introduce the first test of a new world," said Peres, underscoring that Israel
should not make the mistake of thinking that it was superior to the Arabs.

"The Arabs are just like us," said Peres, briefly touching on what the Arabs have given to civilization. He was glad that they were "trying to reach their proper rank" he said, "because it offers a better chance for dialogue."

Mindful that governments do not have the money to handle the problem of poverty, and that governments are usually unwilling to take risks, Peres said that it was up to the non-government sector which does have money and which is not afraid to take risks "to give their money and know-how to sick countries and make them healthy, so that those countries can take care of their sick people."

Peres also views science and technology as a far more effective tool than hasbara (public diplomacy). "When you fight terror, you can't have hasbara," he said, pointing out that extreme fanatics use Israel as an excuse for the problems in their countries "and they're gaining ground in the tendency to delegitimize us."

The only way to fight terrorism said Peres, was to "complete the process in peace making with the Palestinians," and while doing that, to simultaneously help neighboring countries with high tech solutions such as water conservation and water recycling.

He was confident that such measures would to a large extent stifle the anti-Israel demagoguery by those who have evaded the problems of their countries by attacking Israel.