Shimon Peres in New York City, Oct. 24, 2014 (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Shimon Peres, the former defense hawk turned Nobel Peace Prize winner and the last of Israel’s founders, has died. Peres died before dawn Wednesday at 93, Israel Radio reported. The former president suffered a massive stroke earlier this month and was reported initially to be… Read more »
Israeli President Shimon Peres visited bereaved families who lost loved ones during Operation Protective Edge. At the beginning of the visits Peres addressed the current situation and said, “We have only option, to be victorious and avoid a massacre of in the communities around Gaza through the terror tunnels. Through… Read more »
Barbra Streisand hugs Israeli President Shimon Peres after performing at his 90th birthday celebration in Jerusalem, June 18, 2013. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/FLASH90) JERUSALEM (JTA) — World leaders praised and serenaded Israeli President Shimon Peres in honor of his upcoming 90th birthday. The prime-time birthday celebration Tuesday night marked the start of the fifth annual Israeli Presidential Conference. Two of every three Israeli television viewers tuned in to the ceremony, which was… Read more »
Israeli President Shimon Peres presents the Presidential Medal to President Obama at Peres' residence in Jerusalem, March 21, 2013. (Mark Neyman/GPO/Flash90/JTA) JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Obama had three goals for his first presidential trip to Israel. He wanted to persuade Israelis that the United States is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He wanted to promote the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, albeit without any specific “deliverables.” Most… Read more »
The VIP bloggers sit for a photo opp with President Shimon Peres (I'm sitting on the right) In another lifetime, I was a budding talking head. I arrived in Washington, DC, as an undergrad with the intention of studying political communications. But one boring “History of Journalism” class later I switched to archaeology. And one boring “Introduction to Archaeology” class after that I switched to international… Read more »
Jason Alexander, meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres at Peres' residence in Jerusalem, Oct. 25, 2011. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90/JTA) (JTA) — To those who know him as the lovably neurotic and lazy George Costanza from TV’s “Seinfeld,” there was something comic — if not downright ridiculous — in seeing actor Jason Alexander being asked by an elder statesman of Middle East diplomacy about making peace between Israelis and… Read more »
Israeli President Shimon Peres visiting Gilad Shalit at the Shalit family home in the northern Israeli town of Mitzpe Hila, Oct. 24, 2011. (Ziv Binyonski/Flash 90) JERUSALEM (JTA) — A week after Gilad Shalit returned to Israel after being held in captivity for more than five years in Gaza, things were getting back to normal at the Shalit family home — sort of. The Israel Police said they would remove a barrier placed in front… Read more »
Yoel Shalit, brother of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, is led away by security after interrupting an Idependence Day ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA) JERUSALEM (JTA) — As Israelis celebrated the country’s 63rd Independence Day, they had much more on their minds than barbecues and fireworks. The carefully crafted theme of the day, “Looking after one another — the year of mutual care,” raised the hackles of some Israelis who do not believe… Read more »
