The Holy Blood of Shimon Peres

Sitemap | Search | Publications | Journal

The Holy Blood of Shimon Peres

Alexander Nepomniashchy, an Israeli public activist and journalist, one of the leaders of the Orange Movement in Israel, director of the MAOF Analytical Group and author of numerous publications in Israeli Russian-language press, published the following article on his Russian blog in April 2008.

Prologue

"Today I'm no longer interested in what they say about me. I know my mission and will fulfill it to the end..." - Shimon Peres

The triple fanfare, which sounded in the main hall of the Israeli Parliament - the Knesset, informed the assembly that the festive ceremony has commenced. Shimon Peres, the legendary patriarch of Middle Eastern politics, has assumed the post of the ninth President of Israel. Peres' face shone with happiness and confidence. Countless dignitaries stood in line to congratulate the new President. But very few of the over a thousand guests knew the “real” reason for the triumph, which crowned the eighty-four-year long path of this extraordinary man.

Dizzying ascent

Semyon Perski was born in 1923 in the small hamlet of of Vishnevo, located today on the territory of Belarus. The Perski family soon moved to Palestine. The young and talented Zionist shortened his surname into a Hebrew version, and became Shimon Peres. A short time later Shimon joined the Zionist Youth Movement, and became this group’s secretary at age 18.
Five years later he was already representing the MAPAI party at the World Zionist Congress in Basle. And at age 26 he was appointed Assistant to the Director of the Defense Ministry, in the newly formed State of Israel. Peres was in charge of arms acquisition for the new Jewish State, and in 1949 he went to the US as head of the Defense Ministry delegation.
There, in New York, Peres was introduced for the first time in his life to his cousin of similar age, one Betty Joan Perski, who had been born in the New World already. Happy at reuniting with a close part of his family and meeting his first cousin, Shimon could not fathom how his life would radically change from that moment on. Although who knows, perhaps all of this was predestined beforehand...

The fateful meeting

Peres' New York cousin was much better known to the rest of the world under her show-biz stage name - Lauren Bacall. The legendary actress came into stardom in the mid-forties, when she turned from a pretty photo-model into one of the leading beauties of Hollywood. While co-starring with the best actors of the fabled "dream factory", Lauren met Humphrey Bogart - grand icon of American gangster cinema. The couple married soon afterwards.
Humphrey was charmed by his new wife's Israeli cousin. Despite their great age difference, the two became close friends. It was no other than Bogart, who had extensive connections in the world of cinema, art, and politics, who became Peres’ guide into High Society. And while spending sleepless nights with his bohemian relatives, Shimon did not forget his duty to the Nation that sent him. Upon his return to Israel in 1952 he was appointed the General Director of the Ministry of Defense.

Surrounded as it was by enemies on all sides, the new Jewish State desperately needed the very latest in weapon technology. While reorganizing the Ministry under his command, Peres managed to subjugate large portions of the national budget for military needs. He also enlisted most of the new nation’s budding industry, which began filling some of the many military contracts and orders. Yet their effort wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the increasing demand for a steady and superior defense of a nation at war. A possible solution would have been purchasing arms from abroad. But none of the countries with the industrial potential to supply Israel's armament needs was in any hurry to spoil its diplomatic relations with the many Arab nations. The only remaining course of action was to somehow utilize personal contacts. And that's when Shimon Peres really turned to Bogart.
Hailed later by the American Motion Picture Academy as the greatest American film actor in history, Bogart was enormously popular in European intellectual circles. One of his closest friends was the writer, painter, film director, artist, and one of the generally better-known figures of the 20th century - Jean Cocteau.
Bogart often stayed with Cocteau in Lavandou, a resort on the southern coast of France. There, at the prestigious hotel Les Roches, Shimon Peres first met Jean Cocteau. At that time nobody could even imagine the fantastic world-shaking events that would result from that meeting.

The ties that bind

Afterwards Cocteau recalled his first impression of Peres, describing a "vague excitement, which gripped him when he first saw this young Jew with the burning eyes." Cocteau was a member of a highly influential family, involved in politics. Despite his own bohemian and often disorderly existence, he always maintained good connections with aristocratic, political, and governmental circles. Among other things he was very close with De Gaulle, whose brother later even assigned him to make an official report on the conditions in France.
Cocteau introduced Peres to his friend, Pierre Plantard, who had even closer ties with De Gaulle. In later years Plantard recollected that when he first saw Peres he felt "an inexplicably strange and close bond between their souls."
Despite being in the Opposition at the time, De Gaulle's influence in French military circles was considerable. Through Cocteau and Plantard, Peres quickly formed the necessary friendships with governmental officials. Upon returning home he had little trouble convincing his colleagues at the Ministry, and shipments of armaments soon began flowing from France to Israel. The ties between the French and Israeli military industries, forged by Peres, Cocteau, and Plantard, proved inordinately reliable and strong. It was these ties that later led to the union between England, France, and Israel against Egypt in the 1956 Suez Campaign.
But the bond which proved much stronger and of immensely greater consequence, was the friendship between three people - Jean Cocteau, Pierre Plantard, and Shimon Peres.

Astonishing discovery

The more Plantard and Cocteau got to know the young Israeli, the more their interest was captivated by this incredibly energetic and ambitious man. What intrigued them even more was the strange family name, highly uncharacteristic for East-European Jews - Perski. This name was familiar in France as a genealogical line of Russian nobility (and not as a Jewish surname.) Interestingly, Shimon told his new friends about a family legend, which held that the Perski ancestors had originally arrived in Eastern Europe from France.
Plantard was a historian and librarian by trade, and he began looking into the matter. Later he admitted that he must’ve been prompted by higher guidance. He was utterly shocked by the eventual result. It appeared that the Russian aristocratic family of Perski did indeed have Jewish roots. It was a “side” branch of a larger family, which really did hail from France, and which, according to the family legend, originated from no other than the mythical personage of European folklore - the hero Parsifal, seeker of the mysterious Grail, an elusive and unobtainable artifact.
In deep dismay, Plantard told Cocteau and Peres about his discovery. But their subsequent revelation was even more breathtaking.

The Priory of Sion

Plantard and Cocteau were far more than merely influential French aristocrats. They headed possibly the most powerful and secret organization in the world - the Priory of Sion. For many centuries this group took on different identities like the Templars or the Rosicrucians, gave birth to the Masonic lodges, or had vanished deep underground - yet the whole time holding true to their Mission - to protect the Holy Grail, the heirs of the European royal dynasty of the Merovingians, who were blood descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.
At the same time, the Priory keepers suspected that the Merovingians had been assimilated by the Franks and had almost completely lost their original “Jewish component” - and thus ceased being the direct line of descent from the founders of Christianity, and became merely a side branch themselves. On the other hand, the family of Parsifal, which was also descended from the divine couple (this being the origin of the old legends about Parsifal seeking the Grail) - remained closer to their Jewish roots, thus keeping the Holy Blood of the descendants of Jesus and David more "untainted".

In this manner, Plantard and Cocteau announced to the shaken Peres, that they now had reason to believe that he himself is a descendant of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and, therefore, King David. Utterly mesmerized by the incredible information which he had suddenly become privy to, Peres was told in no uncertain terms that if his genealogy could be proven beyond doubt, then he will have no choice but to commence rebuilding the Jerusalem throne - this being one of the foremost missions of the Priory.
Cocteau was the Head of the Priory at the time, and Plantard a Merovingian descendant himself - so both could only see their having met Peres as a sign from above. It told them that the successful completion of their organization’s ancient Sacred Mission - the rebirth of European and Israeli Monarchy, the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple, and the creation of a new perfect and enlightened society – this goal was closer than ever!
The two aristocrats saw their second Big Sign in the fact that the genetic code was deciphered at around the same time. It suddenly became possible to check Shimon Peres' actual relationship with Jesus through a DNA analysis! Provided, of course that the Shroud of Turin really does hold the actual blood of the crucified Jesus.
The problem, however, was that a relatively large amount of DNA molecules was needed in order to conduct the necessary tests - much greater than anyone hoped to gather from the old blood stains on the Shroud.
Nonetheless, Plantard was determined to act.

To build a new world

By 1959, Charles De Gaulle, who turned out to be little more than an obedient puppet in the hands of the Priory, was rescued from the Opposition and became the nation's leader. Many political historians agree that De Gaulle's return to the helm of France became the main trigger for the later founding of the European Union. Concurrently with De Gaulle, Shimon Peres also began his own political career, being elected to the Knesset that same year for the first time.
In tandem with the political preparation, the Priory also commenced priming world opinion. From 1956 on, information about their most secret Order begins somehow seeping into European and American press. In 1982 a book is published in England called "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", written by the journalists Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, who claim to have received their information from the highest source. The book becomes an instant international bestseller, providing extensive details about the goals and activities of the Priory of Sion. It was this book that served as the basis for the subsequently infamous "Foucault's Pendulum" by Umberto Eco (1998), and Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" (2003), both of which brilliantly explored and continued the theme, preparing humanity for the sensational truth.
But several other significant events took place even before the publication of Eco's and Brown's literary works.

The last stage

In the year 1983 a genius American biochemist named Kary Mullis discovered the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) - an experimental method, which enables obtaining large increases in small concentrations of certain fragments of nucleic acid (DNA) in biological material. This scientific milestone (which was subsequently granted the Nobel Prize) had opened the way for a comparative genetic analysis!
The very next year, the Priory of Sion, whose activities had become widely known thanks to the work of Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln - announced the retirement of Pierre Plantard from leadership of the Priory. Plantard had succeeded Cocteau on that post, the latter having died in 1963. Furthermore, the Priory of Sion officially announced that it is severing all its ties with the outside world and removing itself underground - merely intensifying persistent rumors that the organization is continuing its activities under various different guises.

And it was in that very same memorable year of 1984, that Shimon Peres, who had thereto relentlessly forged his way to the pinnacle of government, became the Head of the Jewish State for the first time! Peres marked his two-year sojourn on the Prime Minister chair with a highly characteristic act. Having dissolved the former old Israeli shekel in the abyss of hyperinflation, he changed the currency denomination and issued a new coin - the New Shekel. The image stamped on the back was the fleur-de-lis, the lily flower - symbol of the Priory of Sion.
The official explanation for the appearance of the mighty Order's symbol on Israeli currency was said to be connected with an ancient Persian coin, minted specially for the Judean province. But it remains unclear, why in the plethora of available Judaica symbols from ancient coins, this specific one was chosen...

Interestingly enough, Shimon Peres acted in a similar way each time he held the financial reigns of the country. In 1990 a 5-shekel coin was issued depicting of a column head in a typical tri-leaf formation, much like the fleur-de-lis. At the time Peres was the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. In 1995, during his tenure as Foreign Minister and later Prime Minister - Peres launched the new 10-shekel coin with a palm whose tip again resembles the lily, and with a very curious slogan: "For the Redemption of Zion". Finally in 2007, having become President, he once again lobbied to issue a new coin with a 2-shekel denomination, which shows two intertwining cornucopia in the shape of a lily.

It would appear that the Priory did indeed manage to conduct its genetic tests in 1984, and became convinced of the fact that Shimon Peres really “is” a direct descendant of Jesus and the House of David. It was most likely right afterwards that Peres became the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion replacing Plantard on that post - because the latter was a descendant of merely the "side" and “tainted” Merovingian branch. Many levers of political influence, which were mobilized to accomplish this goal, had finalized the unification of Europe, and also moved Peres to the front line of power.
At the same time, it seems that the Priory gave most serious regard to the stipulation that the Heir of the House of David shall "rule, but not govern". Peres' ultimate destination became not the Prime Minister chair - but the Presidential one, as most befitting a modern-day Royal status (like in a Constitutional Monarchy or, for that matter, in France.) (Editor’s note: the President's role in Israeli politics is largely that of a figurehead, much like the remaining European monarchs. The head of government and of the country is the Prime Minister, while the president attends official functions and gives advice.)
Using all his political mastery, Peres had precariously balanced at the top for over twenty years, never holding the post of Prime Minister for long - yet relentlessly moving towards his real goal - the Presidency!
He finally achieved this in 2007, reaching the highest pinnacle of power in the country, and occupying a post where underhanded coalition politics and back-stabbing party intrigue will no longer concern him. He became exactly what he yearned for - a symbol for power in Israel. Curiously enough, Peres received one of the many congratulatory letters for his inauguration from Pope Benedict XVI - an unprecedented step in the relationship between Israel and the Vatican.
No less interesting is that the current President of France Nicolas Sarkozy (who, according to some evidence, is the Priory candidate to head the European Union) a mere few months ago called Peres a human symbol. "It's a great honor for me to receive you here as the President of the State of Israel - but it's no less an honor for me to receive you here as Shimon Peres. You are a Great Symbol" - emphasized the French President.

Epilogue

Notes

Truth, or fiction… or dare? We should add that Nepomniashchy published the above account on April 1, 2008. Of course, that does not by default mean it is an April Fool’s joke, but the author recently confessed it was indeed just that – adding to his list of several other such annual jokes, some of which have begun a life of their own.
The above will make it clear that there is little or no difference between a new angle, and a joke/fabrication. The tell-tale sign that the piece is at best ill-researched, can be found in the details about the Priory of Sion, some of which are erroneous, and some of which are debatable. The attractiveness of the piece is in the dropping of names, and introducing the “logical framework”, namely Peres as the leader of Sion, tying it back to France. Furthermore, though a link De Gaulle-Plantard-Cocteau has never been proven, it is largely possible. And the first “trap” of such stories is that, because of the manner of writing, it appears as if the author has been able to prove this connection. The second, and most important, trap is that the article provides a concise article: it pretends it has just explained the mystery to us, and that all pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place.
This in itself is a clear sign – or should be – that something is amiss, for such all-comprehensive theories are seldom truth, whether they are a conspiracy theory as the above, or a debunking theory. Life simply is not that simple, and to expect that an outsider from Russia might simply have offered the solution to the Priory mystery on a plate is… well, naïve.
But in spite of this, the above article is great material for study, as it shows how tall tales are spun, and the required ingredients to make it succeed. It should therefore not come as any surprise that some sites on the internet, when confronted with the material, aired it, without any form of investigation, or commentary.

Alexander Nepomniashchy
Translated by Sol Aris. Published with the author’s permission.
Author’s website at http://sashanep.livejournal.com/449760.html
Final notes by Filip Coppens