Never Stop Dreaming

Review by Tanner Willis

The short:

A documentary on one of the founding fathers of the current Israeli state, Shimon Peres, portrays his early life into his diplomatic career and impact on Israel and throughout the world. He was known as a dreamer who never stopped fighting for what he believed in.

The long: 

Shimon Peres was a statesman only few could compare to. His career spanned decades as he was a three-time prime minister, the ninth Israeli president, and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. His life started from humble beginnings in Vishneva, Poland (Modern day Belarus) in 1923. He was a very determined and willful child. While wrestling a much stronger boy, he lost several times in a row and his grandmother insisted for he to stop trying but he said, “but perhaps next time I will win”. These words best describe his outlook and approach to anything he would do in his life.

Early in his career he joined a Zionist youth group called HaNoar Haoved (The Working Youth) and quickly rose in the ranks which gained the attention of the leader of the Zionist paramilitary organization and the future first prime minister of the new state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.

He would be a key figure in the early days of the Israeli state by providing its military with the necessary equipment and alliances to persevere its sovereignty in a very turbulent period. Peres was the architect who brought the nuclear reactor to Israel and during the time was the sixth country in the world to have access to such knowledge and technology.

Peres is quoted as saying “we are condemned to have a small piece of land; we are condemned to have many enemies. We have nothing of value, neither land, nor water, nor oil, and here in our eyes of imagination, we thought maybe we found a solution to it. We can be small in the land, but great in knowledge.”

Shimon Peres would go on to help modernize Israel’s socioeconomic infrastructure with highways, upgrading train railways, developing housing for settling immigrants, and a new international university. 

His political career spanned over 70 years and at the time of his retirement after serving his term as president in 2014, he was just shy of his 91st birthday.  Peres was the last of the founding members of the current Israeli State to pass away in 2016 at 93 years old.

To watch or not to watch:

Whether you agree or disagree with politics you have to admire the ability of Shimon Peres to preserve and adapt to his continuously changing environment. Peres said to “Always be optimistic but never be satisfied. Go ahead, dream.” These words alone are exactly why you should watch this documentary on his life accomplishments. He was able to help establish a country, maintain its sovereignty, and then modernize it to what it is today.