Israel’s Founding Father and Noble Prize winner Shimon Peres, dies at 93. He died Wednesday morning in the hospital, after suffering from a major stroke. Peres was the last remaining major figure in Israel’s Founding generation.
He was one of the disciples of the first Prime Minister of Israel, Ben Gurion. Peres had served twice as Prime Minister of Isreal and later as its ninth President.
Shimon Peres was the key architect of the Oslo peace accords, for which he was jointly accorded the Noble Peace Prize with the then Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
“Today with deep sorrow, we bid farewell to our beloved father. Our father’s legacy has always been to look to tomorrow. We were privileged to e a part of his private family, but today we feel that the entire country of Israel feels that great loss”, his son said.
Israel’s Founding Father and Noble Prize winner Shimon Peres, dies at 93
World leaders on Peres’ Demise:
Renowned leaders from worldwide expressed their condolences and grief over Peres’ death. By calling Peres the essence of Israel, US President Obama said, “As Americans, we are in his debt. Having worked with John F. Kennedy, no one did more over so many years as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries.”
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon said, “He worked tirelessly for a two-state solution that would enable Israel to live securely and harmoniously with the Palestinians and the wider region. Even in the most difficult hours he remained an optimist for the prospects of reconciliation and peace.”
Former President Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that they had “lost a true and treasured friend.” They said that “Israel had lost a leader who championed its security, prosperity and limitless possibilities from its birth to his last day on earth.” They further added, “He was a genius with a big heart who used his gifts to imagine a future of reconciliation and peace.”
