RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG joins the world in mourning the passing of Shimon Peres, as we honor him with a bonus weekly quiz question.
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Shimon Peres, who died yesterday at the age of 93, was once featured in a film entitled So Now What? What was this video about?
President Shimon Peres by Chatham House is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. The video was made in 1995 following the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. In the film, Peres calls for unity and peace in the divided country, so that the country can focus on healing and on the external threats which face Israel.
B. So Now What? was actually a series of short videos made by the Israel Broadcasting Authority in 1967. Each of the 12 segments featured an interview with a leading public figure discussing the future of Israel, following the Israeli victory in the Six Day War and Israel’s newly-gained control over the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Besides Peres, others who were interviewed included Moshe Dayan, David ben-Gurion, and Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek.
C. The movie was made in 1994 by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the group that awards the Nobel Peace Prize. The film, which presented a vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, was shown at the award ceremony when Peres, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize.
D. In 1996 Shimon Peres founded the Peres Center for Peace. The video was made at the time to introduce the Center to the public and to potential donors. In the film, Peres talks about the mission of the Peres Center, detailing its focus on such areas as agriculture, water and the environment; civil leadership; medicine and healthcare; and social media and technology.
E. The video follows Peres as he finds himself unemployed after the end of his term as President of Israel in 2014. In the film, we see him meet with a job counselor who tells him that his past experience as a shepherd is not useful because everyone is now vegan. Peres does eventually get work as a gas pumper, a supermarket check out clerk, and a pizza delivery guy, but sadly, he is not very successful at these jobs.