Today Shimon Peres was elected President of Israel. That is a fairly prestigious position, despite the damage done by the previous president, albeit largely ceremonial.

The exact job description of the President of Israel is difficult to pin down. He will host the championship soccer team in his office and congratulate them, along with congratulating the winner of the hot dog eating contest. In addition, he will go out to pay condolence calls to the families of victims of terror. He will reach out to the various communities in Israel and try to foster unity, while at the same time reach out to the world and attempt to raise the standing of the Jews and Israel among the international community (in a non-political way). He will spearhead the fight against anti-semitism, while raising the level of Zionism and patriotism.

It is ironic that Shimon Peres has been entrusted by his friends in the Knesset to be responsible for all this.

An alert reader (YR) sent me this article. It turns out that this very week - at the same time that Shimon Peres is being elected to the position of President of Israel - the Peres Center for Peace - yes, run by none other than Shimon Peres, is involved in extremely anti-zionist activities.

The Peres Center for Peace has organized a conference of European NGO's where they will spend three days bashing Israel.

The keynote speech at this week's NGO event is being given by Avram Burg, described by the conference program as an “Israeli political personality,” despite Burg’s revealing interview with Haaretz (June 1) in which he calls for Israel to cease being a Jewish entity.

Each of the Israeli organizations invited – Betselem. Combatants for Peace, Israeli Coalition Against Home Demolitions, Machsom Watch, Parents' Circle, Rabbis for Human Rights and Yesh Din – carries a uniquely venomous message which describes Israel’s very presence in Judea and Samaria as a criminal violation of international law. One of those groups, the Israel Committee for Home Demolitions (ICHAD), goes so far as to compare Israeli law with Nazi law. In a presentation in March 2000 on a Boston affiliate of National Public Radio, ICHAD head Jeff Halper alleged that Israel's zoning and building regulations are not ordinary laws, and that Israel's legal system resembles the Nazi Nuremberg Laws. Halper has never retracted that comparison.

Arab speakers at the conference include Fatah leaders Yassir Abed Rabo and Jibril Rajub, who are unlikely to mention that Fatah continues to conduct terror operations against Israelis. No one at the conference will remind participants that Fatah's Al Aksa Brigades is defined by the US, the EU and Israel as a terrorist organization that has not renounced its ways.

We are in for a long 7 years, if Shimon Peres keeps up this type of work....