A light goes out
LEADERS AROUND the world paid powerful tributes to Shimon Peres. Here are some of them:
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
WITH ALL THE citizens of Israel, with the Jewish people and much of the world, I bow my head in memory of our beloved, the dear one of the nation, the late Shimon Peres.
Shimon dedicated his life to our independence. As a visionary, he looked to the future. As a protector, he fortified the power of Israel in many ways. As a man of peace, he worked in his latter days for reconciliation with our neighbours and a better future for our children.
During the seven years in which he served as president, he did much to unite the people. And the people responded with great love. There are not many people in our history who have contributed so much to the state of Israel and the people of Israel.
I first met Shimon 40 years ago on the brink of the grave of my brother, Yoni. I will never forget his warm attitude towards me, my brother Iddo, and our parents of blessed memory, in our moments of grief. Now Shimon, the dear one of the nation, has departed from us. But he has not departed, he will never depart, from our hearts and our memory.
Shimon Peres’s name will be immortalised in the book of revival of the Jewish people, as one of the greatest leaders Israel had, and one of the founding fathers who established the State of Israel.
BILL CLINTON
ISRAEL HAS LOST a leader who championed its security, prosperity, and limitless possibilities from its birth to his last day on earth. The Middle East has lost a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation and for a future where all the children of Abraham build a better tomorrow together. And Hillary and I have lost a true and treasured friend. I’ll never forget how happy he was 23 years ago when he signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn, heralding a more hopeful era in Israeli-Palestinian relations. He was a genius with a big heart who used his gifts to imagine a future of reconciliation not conflict, economic and social empowerment not anger and frustration, and a nation, a region, and a world enhanced by caring and sharing, not torn asunder by the illusions of permanent dominance and perfect truth. His critics called him a dreamer. That he was — a lucid, eloquent dreamer until the very end. Thank goodness. Let those of us who loved him and love his nation keep his dream alive.
THERESA MAY
I AM DEEPLY saddened to hear that Shimon Peres has died. He was a visionary and courageous statesman, who worked relentlessly for peace and never lost hope that this would one day be achievable. He was a truly deserving winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
My thoughts go out to the Israeli people and the family of Shimon Peres as they mourn the loss of a beloved father and compatriot — a great man who epitomised optimism and a belief that, by working together, we can build a better future.
BARACK OBAMA
THERE ARE FEW people who we share this world with who change the course of human history, not just through their role in human events, but because they expand our moral imagination and force us to expect more of ourselves.
My friend Shimon was one of those people.
Michelle and I join people across Israel, the United States and around the world in honouring the extraordinary life of our dear friend Shimon Peres — a founding father of the state of Israel and a statesman whose commitment to Israel’s security and pursuit of peace was rooted in his own unshakable moral foundation and unflagging optimism.
I will always be grateful that I was able to call Shimon my friend. I first visited him in Jerusalem when I was a senator, and when I asked for his advice, he told me that, while people often say that the future belongs to the young, it’s the present that really belongs to the young. “Leave the future to me,” he said, “I have time.” And he was right.
As Americans, we are in his debt because, having worked with every US president since John F Kennedy, no one did more over so many years
as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries.
Perhaps because he had seen Israel overcome overwhelming odds, Shimon never gave up on the possibility of peace between Israelis, Palestinians and Israel’s neighbours — not even after the heartbreak of the night in Tel Aviv that took Yitzhak Rabin. I can think of no greater tribute to his life than to renew our commitment to the peace that we know is possible.
A light has gone out, but the hope he gave us will burn forever. Shimon Peres was a soldier for Israel, for the Jewish people, for justice, for peace, and for the belief that we can be true to our best selves — to the very end of our time on Earth, and in the legacy that we leave to others. For the gift of his friendship and the example of his leadership, todah rabah, Shimon.
ISAAC HERZOG
SHIMON WAS A person I spent an enormous amount of time with throughout my adult life… he was a teacher, a friend and a remarkable statesman who will be forever remembered as an icon of Israel’s history.
AMOS OZ
MY FRIEND SHIMON had a very rare human quality: he had the ability to change. When I met Peres in the early ’70s, he was, in my eyes, a banal hawk. Supporting settlers, a security man, the more power the better. He changed before my eyes… into a stubborn believer in Israeli-Palestinian peace and Israeli-Arab peace. He was a rare kind of adult, who carries inside himself a living child… who behaves as if all his life lies ahead of him.