End of the Shimon Peres era in Israel

At the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 24, Israeli President Shimon Peres received the Spirit of Davos Award. No one represents the spirit of initiative and vision better than Peres. He received the award before hundreds of heads of state and international corporations, at a special session headed by Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab. Peres was granted the title in recognition of “his efforts to advance the World Economic Forum for the past two decades.”

This is the last gathering at Davos that Peres will be attending in a formal capacity. His term ends in half a year, and while he would very much like to see it extended, apparently that will not happen. The Age of Peres is over. Peres is the last of the giants from the founders’ generation, but Peres has not been solely an Israeli figure for the longest time. He is the only Israeli politician who has successfully become an international figure. It would be very hard to imagine the political, diplomatic and public map of Israel — and the Middle East for that matter — without him.