Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres; Hebrew: שמעון פרס; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923) is a Polish-born Israeli statesman. He was the ninth President of Israel from 2007 to 2014. Peres served twice as the Prime Minister of Israel and twice as Interim Prime Minister, and he was a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, served continuously until 2007,...
NationalityIsraeli
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth2 August 1923
CountryIsrael
That was my first lesson from Ben-Gurion. Then I saw him making peace, and I saw him making war. He mobilized me before the war. The man was a very rare combination between a real intellectual and a born leader. There is a contradiction between the two.
Israel was born under the British mandate. We learned from the British what democracy means, and how it behaves in a time of danger, war and terror. We thank Britain for introducing freedom and respect of human rights both in normal and demanding circumstances.
Can any church help us to win a war? If you can't help us win a war, then please don't press us.
In the past, most wars were motivated by the idea of nationhood. Today, however, wars are incited above all using religion as an excuse.
In every war, there are always elements of blindness.
Until the Yom Kippur War, in 1973, until then Israel didn't have a chance but to fight for her life. We were attacked five times, outgunned, outnumbered, on a small piece of land, and our main challenge was to remain alive.
The Holocaust is a great warning to us all. We shall never forget our sisters and brothers. We have to ensure it is not repeated and to ensure we never go back to the days when humans behaved as beasts. Forgetfulness is a menace, we must remember.
I don't think anybody who carries a rifle carries the future. Because I don't believe that you can really change the world by killing and shooting. You have the change it by creating and competing.
In many ways, this is more of a warning than a military operation. It is a warning to Arafat, telling him: 'Take the situation into your own hands and respond to the real problems,' ... Larry King Live.
We understand perfectly well that without an inflow of people and goods within Gaza or outside Gaza, Gaza will not be able to exist,
Israel has its attractions. It's the most dramatic country in the world. Everybody's engaged. Everybody argues. When I leave Israel, I get a little bit bored, you know?
Saddam Hussein is one of the greatest killers -- and a smart one -- around us. He endangers his own people. He endangers his neighbors. And he will not stop being a danger because this is his nature, and this is his position,
Contrary to his father, he speaks foreign languages, ... He was educated abroad. He is aware that the world has changed.
We don't want to occupy them or reoccupy them, and as soon as it is possible we shall be more than happy to leave them, provided that security can be assured,