Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres
Peres in 2009
9th President of Israel
In office 15 July 2007 – 24 July 2014
Prime Minister	Ehud Olmert Benjamin Netanyahu
Preceded by	Moshe Katsav
Succeeded by	Reuven Rivlin
8th Prime Minister of Israel
In office 4 November 1995 – 18 June 1996 Acting: 4–22 November 1995
President	Ezer Weizman
Preceded by	Yitzhak Rabin
Succeeded by	Benjamin Netanyahu
In office 13 September 1984 – 20 October 1986
President	Chaim Herzog
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Unofficially Acting 22 April 1977 – 21 June 1977
President	Ephraim Katzir
Preceded by	Yitzhak Rabin
Succeeded by	Menachem Begin
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 7 March 2001 – 2 November 2002
Prime Minister	Ariel Sharon
Deputy	Michael Melchior
Preceded by	Shlomo Ben-Ami
Succeeded by	Benjamin Netanyahu
In office 14 July 1992 – 22 November 1995
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Rabin
Deputy	Yossi Beilin Eli Dayan
Preceded by	David Levy
Succeeded by	Ehud Barak
In office 20 October 1986 – 23 December 1988
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Shamir
Preceded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Succeeded by	Moshe Arens
Minister of Defence
In office 4 November 1995 – 18 June 1996
Preceded by	Yitzhak Rabin
Succeeded by	Yitzhak Mordechai
In office 3 June 1974 – 20 June 1977
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Rabin
Preceded by	Moshe Dayan
Succeeded by	Ezer Weizman
Minister of Finance
In office 22 December 1988 – 15 March 1990
Prime Minister	Yitzhak Shamir
Preceded by	Moshe Nissim
Succeeded by	Yitzhak Shamir
Minister of Transportation
In office 1 September 1970 – 10 March 1974
Prime Minister	Golda Meir
Preceded by	Ezer Weizman
Succeeded by	Aharon Yariv
Member of the Knesset
In office March 2006 – 13 June 2007
In office November 1959 – 15 January 2006
Personal details
Born	Szymon Perski (1923-08-02)2 August 1923 Wiszniew, Second Polish Republic (now Belarus)
Died	28 September 2016(2016-09-28) (aged 93) Ramat Gan, Israel
Resting place	Mount Herzl, Jerusalem
Political party	Mapai (1959–1965) Rafi (1965–1968) Labor (1968–2005) Kadima (2005–2016)
Other political affiliations	Alignment (1965–1991)
Spouse(s)	Sonya Gelman ​ ​ (m. 1945; died 2011)​
Children	Tsvia Yoni Chemi
Alma mater	The New School New York University Harvard University
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1994)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Israel
Branch/service	Haganah Israel Defense Forces

Shimon Peres (/ʃiːˌmoʊn ˈpɛrɛs, -ɛz/; Hebrew: שמעון פרס [ʃiˌmon ˈpeʁes] (listen); born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the ninth President of Israel from 2007 to 2014 and as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996. He was a member of twelve cabinets and represented five political parties in a political career spanning 70 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, was in office continuously until he was elected President in 2007. At the time of his retirement in 2014, he was the world's oldest head of state and was considered the last link to Israel's founding generation.

From a young age, he was renowned for his oratorical brilliance, and was chosen as a protégé by David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father. He began his political career in the late 1940s, holding several diplomatic and military positions during and directly after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. His first high-level government position was as Deputy Director-General of Defense in 1952 which he attained at the age of 28, and Director-General from 1953 until 1959. In 1956, he took part in the historic negotiations on the Protocol of Sèvres described by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden as the "highest form of statesmanship". In 1963, he held negotiations with U.S. President John F. Kennedy, which resulted in the sale of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel, the first sale of U.S. military equipment to Israel. Peres represented Mapai, Rafi, the Alignment, Labor and Kadima in the Knesset, and led Alignment and Labor.

Peres first succeeded Yitzhak Rabin as Acting Prime Minister briefly during 1977, before becoming Prime Minister from 1984 to 1986. As Foreign Minister under Prime Minister Rabin, Peres engineered the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize together with Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the Oslo Accords peace talks with the Palestinian leadership. In 1996, he founded the Peres Center for Peace, which has the aim of "promot[ing] lasting peace and advancement in the Middle East by fostering tolerance, economic and technological development, cooperation and well-being." After suffering a stroke, Peres died on 28 September 2016 near Tel Aviv.

Peres was a polyglot, speaking Polish, French, English, Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew, although he never lost his Polish accent when speaking in Hebrew. In his private life, he was a poet and songwriter, writing stanzas during cabinet meetings, with some of his poems later being recorded as songs in albums. As a result of his deep literary interests, he could quote from Hebrew prophets, French literature, and Chinese philosophy with equal ease.

Early life

Shimon Peres was born Szymon Perski, on 2 August 1923, in Wiszniew, Poland (now Vishnyeva, Belarus), to Yitzhak (1896–1962) and Sara (1905–1969, née Meltzer) Perski. The family spoke Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian at home, and Peres learned Polish at school. He then learned to speak English and French. His father was a wealthy timber merchant, later branching out into other commodities; his mother was a librarian. Peres had a younger brother, Gershon. He was related to the American film star Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske), and they were described as first cousins, but Peres said, "In 1952 or 1953, I came to New York... Lauren Bacall called me, said that she wanted to meet, and we did. We sat and talked about where our families came from, and discovered that we were from the same family... but I'm not exactly sure what our relation is... It was she who later said that she was my cousin; I didn't say that".

Shimon Peres (standing, third from right) with his family, ca. 1930

Peres told Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson that he had been born as a result of a blessing his parents had received from a chassidic rebbe and that he was proud of it. Peres's grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Meltzer, a grandson of Rabbi Chaim Volozhin, had a great impact on his life. In an interview, Peres said: "As a child, I grew up in my grandfather's home. … I was educated by him. … My grandfather taught me Talmud. It was not as easy as it sounds. My home was not an observant one. My parents were not Orthodox but I was Haredi. At one point, I heard my parents listening to the radio on the Sabbath and I smashed it." When he was a child, Peres was taken by his father to Radun to receive a blessing from Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan (known as "the Chofetz Chaim"). As a child, Peres would later say, "I did not dream of becoming president of Israel. My dream as a boy was to be a shepherd or a poet of stars." He inherited his love of French literature from his maternal grandfather.

Israeli children should be taught to look to the future, not live in the past. I would rather teach them to imagine than to remember.

— Shimon Peres, 2000

In 1932, Peres's father immigrated to Mandatory Palestine and settled in Tel Aviv. The family followed him in 1934. He attended Balfour Elementary School and High School, and Geula Gymnasium (High School for Commerce) in Tel Aviv. At 15, he transferred to Ben Shemen agricultural school and lived on Kibbutz Geva for several years. Peres was one of the founders of Kibbutz Alumot.

In 1941, he was elected Secretary of HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed, a Labor Zionist youth movement, and in 1944 returned to Alumot, where he had an agricultural training and worked as a farmer and a shepherd.

Peres at 13-years-old in 1936

At age 20, he was elected to the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed national secretariat, where he was only one of two Mapai party supporters, out of the 12 members. Three years later, he took over the movement and won a majority. The head of Mapai, David Ben-Gurion, and Berl Katznelson began to take an interest in him, and appointed him to Mapai's secretariat.

In 1944, Peres led an illicit expedition into the Negev, then a closed military zone requiring a permit to enter. The expedition, consisting of a group of teenagers, along with a Palmach scout, a zoologist, and an archaeologist, had been funded by Ben-Gurion and planned by Palmach head Yitzhak Sadeh, as part of a plan for future Jewish settlement of the area so as to include it in the Jewish state. The group was arrested by a Bedouin camel patrol led by a British officer, taken to Beersheba (then a small Arab town) and incarcerated in the local jail. All of the participants were sentenced to two weeks in prison, and as the leader, Peres was also heavily fined. The expedition came across a nest of bearded vultures, called peres in Hebrew, and from this Peres took his Hebrew name.

All of Peres's relatives who remained in Wiszniew in 1941 were murdered during the Holocaust, many of them (including Rabbi Meltzer) burned alive in the town's synagogue.

In 1945, Peres married Sonya Gelman, who preferred to remain outside the public eye. They had three children.

In 1946, Peres and Moshe Dayan were chosen as the two youth delegates in the Mapai delegation to the Zionist Congress in Basel.

In 1947, Peres joined the Haganah, the predecessor of the Israel Defense Forces. David Ben-Gurion made him responsible for personnel and arms purchases; he was appointed to head the naval service when Israel received independence in 1948.

Peres was director of the Defense Ministry's delegation in the United States in the early 1950s. While in the U.S. he studied English, economics, and philosophy at The New School and New York University, and completed a four-month advanced management course at Harvard University.

Ministry of Defense

In 1952, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, and the following year, he became Director-General. At age 29, he was the youngest person to hold this position. He was involved in arms purchases and establishing strategic alliances that were important for the State of Israel. He was instrumental in establishing close relations with France, securing massive amounts of quality arms that, in turn, helped to tip the balance of power in the region.

Owing to Peres's mediation, Israel acquired the advanced Dassault Mirage III French jet fighter, established the Dimona nuclear reactor and entered into a tri-national agreement with France and the United Kingdom, positioning Israel in what would become the 1956 Suez Crisis. Peres continued as a primary intermediary in the close French-Israeli alliance from the mid-1950s, although from 1958, he was often involved in tense negotiations with Charles de Gaulle over the Dimona project.

Peres was the architect of Israel's secret nuclear weapons program in the 1960s, and he stated that in the 1960s he recruited Arnon Milchan, an Israeli-American Hollywood film producer, billionaire businessman, and secret arms dealer and intelligence operative, to work for the Israeli Bureau of Scientific Relations (LEKEM or LAKAM), a secret intelligence organization tasked with obtaining military technology and science espionage.

1956 Suez Crisis

Main article: Suez Crisis

From 1954, as Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, Peres was involved in the planning of the 1956 Suez War, in partnership with France and Britain. Peres was sent by David Ben-Gurion to Paris, where he held secret meetings with the French government. Peres was instrumental in negotiating the Franco-Israeli agreement for a military offensive. In November 1954, Peres visited Paris, where he was received by the French Defense Minister Marie-Pierre Kœnig, who told him that France would sell Israel any weapons it wanted to buy. By early 1955, France was shipping large amounts of weapons to Israel. In April 1956, following another visit to Paris by Peres, France agreed to disregard the Tripartite Declaration, and supply more weapons to Israel. During the same visit, Peres informed the French that Israel had decided upon war with Egypt in 1956. Throughout the 1950s, an extraordinarily close relationship existed between France and Israel, characterised by unprecedented cooperation in the fields of defense and diplomacy. For his work as the architect of this relationship, Peres was awarded the highest order of the French, the Legion of Honor, as Commander.

Peres (center) with Ezer Weizman and King Mahendra of Nepal in 1958

At Sèvres, Peres took part in planning alongside Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury, Christian Pineau and Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces General Maurice Challe, and British Foreign Secretary Selwyn Lloyd and his assistant Sir Patrick Dean. Britain and France enlisted Israeli support for an alliance against Egypt. The parties agreed that Israel would invade the Sinai. Britain and France would then intervene, purportedly to separate the warring Israeli and Egyptian forces, instructing both to withdraw to a distance of 16 kilometres from either side of the canal. The British and French would then argue, according to the plan, that Egypt's control of such an important route was too tenuous, and that it needed be placed under Anglo-French management. The agreement at Sèvres was initially described by British Prime Minister Anthony Eden as the "highest form of statesmanship". The three allies, especially Israel, were mainly successful in attaining their immediate military objectives. However, the extremely hostile reaction to the Suez Crisis from both the United States and the USSR forced them to withdraw, resulting in a failure of Britain and France's political and strategic aims of controlling the Suez Canal.

Early political career

Shimon Peres with Yitzak Rabin and Levi Eshkol in 1964

Prime Minister Peres delivers a speech in front of Ethiopian Jewish immigrants, 2 October 1985

Peres was first elected to the Knesset in the 1959 elections, as a member of the Mapai party. He was given the role of Deputy Defense Minister, which he filled until 1965. Peres and Moshe Dayan left Mapai with David Ben-Gurion to form a new party, Rafi, which reconciled with Mapai and joined the Alignment (a left-wing alliance) in 1968. He held negotiations with John F. Kennedy, which concluded with the sale of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel, the first sale of US military equipment to Israel.

In 1969, Peres was appointed Minister of Immigrant Absorption and in 1970 he became Minister of Transportation and Communications. After this, he served as Information Minister.

First tenure as Minister of Defense (1974–1977)

he was appointed Minister of Defense in the Yitzhak Rabin government, having been Rabin's chief rival for the post of Prime Minister in the 1974 Israeli Labor Party leadership election after Golda Meir resigned in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. During this time, Peres continued to challenge Rabin for the chairmanship of the party, but in February 1977, he again lost to Rabin in the party's leadership election.

Entebbe rescue operation, 1976

[W]hat we are considering really is not just a calculated risk in the military sense, but a comparative risk, which exists between surrender to terror and daring rescue stemming from independence.

— Shimon Peres, 1976

On 27 June 1976, Peres, as Minister of Defense, along with Rabin, had to deal with a coordinated act of terrorism when 248 Paris-bound travelers on an Air France plane were taken hostage by pro-Palestinian hijackers and flown to Uganda, Africa, 2,000 miles away.

Peres and Rabin were responsible for approving what became known as the Entebbe rescue operation, which took place on 4 July 1976. The rescue boosted the Rabin government's approval rating with the public. The only Israeli soldier that was killed during the successful rescue operation was its commander, 30-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Netanyahu, older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the few days leading up to the operation, Peres and Rabin leaned toward different solutions. Rabin took steps to initiate negotiations, seeing no other option. Peres, however, felt that negotiating with terrorists, who were demanding the release of prisoners, would in effect be surrender, and thought a rescue operation should be planned.

Peres then organized a secret Israel Crisis Committee to come up with a rescue plan. When a plan had been made, he met with commander Netanyahu a number of times. During one of their final private meetings, they both examined maps and went over precise details. Peres later said of Netanyahu's explanation, "My impression was one of exactitude and imagination," saying that Netanyahu seemed confident the operation would succeed with almost no losses. Netanyahu left the meeting understanding that Peres would do everything in his power to see that the operation went smoothly.

Peres then went unannounced to Moshe Dayan, the former Minister of Defense, interrupting his dinner with friends in a restaurant, to show him the latest plan to get his opinion. Peres told Dayan of the objections that had been raised by Rabin and Chief of Staff, Mordechai Gur. Dayan dismissed the objections after reviewing the written details: "Shimon," he said, "this is a plan that I support not one hundred percent but one hundred and fifty percent! There has to be a military operation."

Peres later got the approval from Gur, who became fully supportive. Peres then took the plan to Rabin, who had been lukewarm and still didn't like the risks, but he reluctantly approved the plan after Peres answered a number of key questions and Rabin learned that the cabinet had also endorsed it.

First tenure as Labor Party Leader (1977–1992)

Tenure as unofficial acting Prime Minister in 1977

Peres succeeded Rabin as party leader prior to the 1977 elections when Rabin stepped down in the wake of a foreign currency scandal involving his wife. As Rabin could not legally resign from the caretaker government, he officially remained Prime Minister, while Peres became the unofficial acting Prime Minister.

Labor in opposition (1977–1984)

Peres led the Alignment to its first ever electoral defeat, when Likud under Menachem Begin won sufficient seats to form a coalition that excluded the left. After only a month on top, Peres assumed the role of opposition leader. After handily turning back a party leadership comeback bid by Rabin in 1980, Peres led his party to another, narrower, loss in the 1981 elections.

First tenure as Prime Minister (1984–1986)

In the 1984 elections, the Alignment won more seats than any other party but failed to muster the majority of 61 mandates needed to form a left-wing coalition. Alignment and Likud agreed to an unusual "rotation" arrangement, or unity government, in which Peres would serve as Prime Minister and the Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir would be Foreign Minister, swapping positions midway through the term. A highlight of this time in office was a long-range Israeli airstrike against the PLO headquarters in Tunisia, and a trip to Morocco to confer with King Hassan II.

Peace is not the pursuit of war by other means. Peace consists of putting an end to the red ink of past history and starting anew in a different color.

— Shimon Peres, 1996

First tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1986–1988)

As part of the rotation deal, after two years Peres and Shamir traded places, and in 1986 Peres became foreign minister.

Minister of Finance (1988–1990)

In 1988 the Alignment, led by Peres, suffered another narrow defeat. This came despite the fact that polling in 1988 showed Peres to be the most popular politician in the nation. Peres agreed to renew the coalition with the Likud, this time conceding the premiership to Shamir for the entire term. In the national unity government of 1988–90, Peres served as Vice Premier and Minister of Finance.

Labor in opposition (1990–1992)

Peres and the Alignment finally left the government in 1990, after "the dirty trick" – a failed bid to form a narrow government based on a coalition of the Alignment, small leftist factions and ultra-orthodox parties.

Peres led the opposition in the Knesset from 1990 until early 1992, when he was defeated by Yitzhak Rabin in the Isreali Labor Party leadership election, the first leadership election held since the party formally merged with the other parties of Alignment, and the first leadership election open to participation by the party's entire membership. Peres remained active in politics, however.

Second tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992–1995)

Shimon Peres (left) with Yitzhak Rabin (center) and King Hussein of Jordan (right), prior to signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty

Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat receiving the Nobel Peace Prize following the Oslo Accords

After the Labor Party was successful in the 1992 Knesset election, and Rabin became prime minister again, he made Peres his foreign minister.

Oslo Accords and Nobel Peace Prize

Secret negotiations with Yasser Arafat's PLO organization led to the Oslo Accords, which won Peres, Rabin and Arafat the Nobel Peace Prize. But in 2002, members of the Norwegian committee that awards the annual Nobel Peace Prize stated they regretted that Mr Peres's prize could not be recalled. Because he had not acted to prevent Israel's re-occupation of Palestinian territory, he had not lived up to the ideals he expressed when he accepted the prize, and he was involved in human rights abuses.

Israel–Jordan peace treaty

On 26 October 1994, Jordan and Israel signed the Israel–Jordan peace treaty, which had been initiated by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The ceremony was held in the Arava valley of Israel, north of Eilat and near the Jordanian border. Prime Minister Rabin and Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali signed the treaty and the President of Israel Ezer Weizman shook hands with King Hussein. US President Bill Clinton observed, accompanied by US Secretary of State Warren Christopher. The treaty brought an end to 46 years of official war between Israel and Jordan.

Peace is very much like love. It is a romantic process—you have to be living it, you have to invest in it, you have to trust it. As you cannot impose love, so you cannot impose peace.

— Shimon Peres, 1997

Second tenure as Labor Party leader (1995–1997)

Second tenure as Prime Minister (1995–1996)

See also: Twenty-fifth government of Israel and Twenty-sixth government of Israel

After Rabin's assassination on 4 November 1995, Peres was made acting prime minister and acting Defense minister, and was also soon made Labor Party leader again.

On 15 November, 1995, Peres was invited to form a new government. On 21 November, Peres signed a coalition agreement between Labor, Meretz and Yiud (which had been members of Rabin's government), which was formally approved by the Knesset the next day, establishing a new government with Peres as prime minister.

This stint as prime minister (both acting and official) ultimately lasted a total of seven months, until the 1996 elections. During this time, Peres attempted to maintain the momentum of the peace process.

On 11 April 1996, Prime Minister Peres initiated Operation Grapes of Wrath, which was triggered by Hezbollah Katyusha rockets fired into Israel in response to the killing of two Lebanese by an IDF missile. Israel conducted massive air raids and extensive shelling in southern Lebanon. 106 Lebanese civilians died in the shelling of Qana, when a UN compound was hit in an Israeli shelling.

In 1996, Peres founded the Peres Center for Peace, which has the aim of "promot[ing] lasting peace and advancement in the Middle East by fostering tolerance, economic and technological development, cooperation and well-being."

Shimon Peres with U.S. President Bill Clinton at the White House, April 1996

During his term, Peres promoted the use of the Internet in Israel and created the first website of an Israeli prime minister.

Leadership of Labor in opposition (1996–1997)

Peres was narrowly defeated by Benjamin Netanyahu in the first direct elections for Prime Minister in 1996. Labor became an opposition party again.

End of Labor Party leadership, and continued service as Opposition MK (1997–1999)

Peres did not seek re-election as Labor Party leader In 1997 and was replaced by Ehud Barak that year. Barak rebuffed Peres's attempt to secure the position of party president.

Minister of Regional Co-operation (1999–2001)

Ehud Barak was elected prime minister and formed a government in 1999. Barak appointed Peres to the minor post of Minister of Regional Co-operation.

In 2000, Peres ran for a seven-year term as Israel's President, a ceremonial head of state position which usually authorizes the selection of Prime Minister. However, he lost to Likud candidate Moshe Katsav. Katsav's victory was attributed in part to evidence that Peres planned to use the position to support the increasingly unpopular peace processes of the government of Ehud Barak.

Third tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2001–2002)

Following Ehud Barak's defeat by Ariel Sharon in the 2001 direct election for Prime Minister, Peres made yet another comeback. He led helped Labor into a national unity government with Sharon's Likud (the Twenty-ninth government of Israel) and secured the post of Foreign Minister. The formal leadership of the party passed to Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, and in 2002 to Haifa mayor Amram Mitzna. Peres was much criticized on the left for clinging to his position as foreign minister in a government that was not seen as advancing the peace process, despite his own dovish stance. He left office only when Labor resigned from the government in advance of the 2003 Knesset election.

Continued service as opposition MK

Peres left his post as foreign minister following Labor's 2002 exit from the unity government. This placed Labor in the opposition.

Tenure as interim Labor Party leader (2003–2005)

After the Labor Party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2003 Knesset election, under the leadership of Mitzna, Peres was made interim leader of the party on 19 June, 2003.

First tenure as Vice Prime Minister (2005)

Peres led the Labor Party into a coalition with Sharon once more, reaching an agreement the end of 2004, and entering the party into the thirtieth government of Israel in January 2005. This came after the Sharon's support of "disengagement" from Gaza presented a diplomatic program Labor could support. Sharon made Peres vice prime minister.

Peres in 2005

As party leader, Peres favored putting off the elections for as long as possible. He claimed that an early election would jeopardize both the September 2005 Gaza withdrawal plan and the standing of the party in a national unity government with Sharon. However, the majority pushed for an earlier date, as younger members of the party, among them Amir Peretz, Ophir Pines-Paz and Isaac Herzog, overtook established leaders such as Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Haim Ramon in the party ballot to divide up government portfolios. Peres lost a bid to for permenant chairmanship of the Labor Party to Amir Peretz in the November 2005 leadership election, held in advance of the 2006 elections. Peres received 40% of the vote to Peretz's 42.4%.

Exit from Labor Party, and tenure as Kadima MK

Optimists and pessimists die the same way. They just live differently. I prefer to live as an optimist.

— Shimon Peres, 2005

Labor withdrew from the unity government on 23 November 2005. On 30 November 2005 Peres announced that he was leaving the Labor Party to support Ariel Sharon and his new Kadima party. In the immediate aftermath of Sharon's debilitating stroke, there was speculation that Peres might take over as leader of the party; most senior Kadima leaders, however, were former members of Likud and indicated their support for Ehud Olmert as Sharon's successor.

Labor reportedly tried to woo Peres back to the fold. However, he announced that he supported Olmert and would remain with Kadima. Peres had previously announced his intention not to run in the March 2006 elections, but changed his mind.

Peres resigned from the Knesset on 15 January 2006 due both to Attorney General Menahem Mazuz issuing a decision that ruled Peres and several others could not be appointed to ministerial posts by Prime Minister Olmert and due to a law that, due to him having switched parties, would have prevented him from running for the next Knesset if he remained an incumbent member of the Kneset.

Second tenure as Vice Prime Minister (2006–2007)

Peres was soon elected back to the Knesset in the 2006 election, this time as a member of Kadima. After the new Kadima-led government was formed, Peres was given the role of vice prime minister and minister for the development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy.

Presidency (2007–2014)

Main article: Presidency of Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres in December 2007 (audio)

Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (2009)

Shimon Peres meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, 5 May 2009

Shimon Peres and the Foreign Minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim, meet in Brasília, 11 November 2009

Shimon Peres addressing a gathering of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem (2010)

On 13 June 2007, Peres was elected President of the State of Israel by the Knesset. 58 of 120 members of the Knesset voted for him in the first round (whereas 38 voted for Reuven Rivlin, and 21 for Colette Avital). His opponents then backed Peres in the second round and 86 members of the Knesset voted in his favor, while 23 objected. He resigned from his role as a Member of the Knesset the same day, having been a member since November 1959 (except for a three-month period in early 2006), the longest serving in Israeli political history. Peres was sworn in as president on 15 July 2007.

Israel must not only be an asset but a value. A moral, cultural and scientific call for the promotion of man, every man. It must be a good and warm home for Jews who are not Israelis, as well as for Israelis who are not Jews. And it must create equal opportunities for all, without discriminating between religion, nationality, community or sex... I have seen Israel in its most difficult hours and also in moments of achievement and spiritual uplifting. My years place me at an observation point from which can be viewed the scene of our reviving nation, spread out in all its glory... Permit me to remain an optimist. Permit me to be a dreamer of his people. If sometimes the atmosphere is autumnal, and also if today, the day seems suddenly grey, the president Israel has chosen will never tire of encouraging, awakening and reminding - because spring is waiting for us. The spring will definitely come.

— Shimon Peres, President's inaugural address, July 2007

On 20 November 2008, Peres received an honorary knighthood, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George from Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace in London.

In June 2011, he was awarded the honorary title of sheikh by Bedouin dignitaries in Hura for his efforts to achieve Middle East peace. Peres thanks his hosts by saying "This visit has been a pleasure. I am deeply impressed by Hura. You have done more for yourselves than anyone else could have". He told the Mayor of Hura, Dr. Muhammad Al-Nabari, and members of Hura's governing council, that they were "part of the Negev. It cannot be developed without developing the Bedouin community, so that it may keep its traditions while joining the modern world."

Political views

Peres described himself as a "Ben-Gurionist", after his mentor Ben-Gurion. He felt that Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel was a means to a progressive end in which the State of Israel both inspire the world and survive in a region of the world where it was unwelcome.

As a younger man, Peres was once considered a "hawk". He was a protégé of Ben-Gurion and Dayan and an early supporter of the West Bank settlers during the 1970s. However, after becoming the leader of his party his stance evolved. Subsequently, he was seen as a dove, and a strong supporter of peace through economic cooperation. While still opposed, like all mainstream Israeli leaders in the 1970s and early 1980s, to talks with the PLO, he distanced himself from settlers and spoke of the need for "territorial compromise" over the West Bank and Gaza. For a time he hoped that King Hussein of Jordan could be Israel's Arab negotiating partner rather than Yasser Arafat. Peres met secretly with Hussein in London in 1987 and reached a framework agreement with him, but this was rejected by Israel's then Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir. Shortly afterward the First Intifada erupted, and whatever plausibility King Hussein had as a potential Israeli partner in resolving the fate of the West Bank evaporated. Subsequently, Peres gradually moved closer to support for talks with the PLO, although he avoided making an outright commitment to this policy until 1993.

Peres was perhaps more closely associated with the Oslo Accords than any other Israeli politician (Rabin included) with the possible exception of his own protégé, Yossi Beilin. He remained an adamant supporter of the Oslo Accords and the Palestinian Authority since their inception despite the First Intifada and the al-Aqsa Intifada (Second Intifada). However, Peres supported Ariel Sharon's military policy of operating the Israeli Defense Forces to thwart suicide bombings.

Peres's foreign policy outlook was markedly realist. To placate Turkey, Peres downplayed the Armenian genocide. Peres stated: "We reject attempts to create a similarity between the Holocaust and the Armenian allegations. Nothing similar to the Holocaust occurred. It is a tragedy what the Armenians went through but not a genocide." Although Peres himself did not retract the statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry later issued a cable to its missions which stated that "The minister absolutely did not say, as the Turkish news agency alleged, 'What the Armenians underwent was a tragedy, not a genocide.'" However, according to Armenian news agencies, the statement released by the Israeli consulate in Los Angeles did not include any mention that Peres had not said that the events were not genocide.

On the issue of the nuclear program of Iran and the supposed existential threat this poses for Israel, Peres stated, "I am not in favor of a military attack on Iran, but we must quickly and decisively establish a strong, aggressive coalition of nations that will impose painful economic sanctions on Iran", adding "Iran's efforts to achieve nuclear weapons should keep the entire world from sleeping soundly." In the same speech, Peres compared Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his call to "wipe Israel off the map" to the genocidal threats to European Jewry made by Adolf Hitler in the years prior to the Holocaust. In an interview with Army Radio on 8 May 2006 he remarked that "the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map." However, after his death it was revealed that Peres had said that he prevented a military strike on Iran's nuclear program that had been ordered by Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak in 2010.

Peres was a proponent of Middle East economic integration.

Technology

Peres is regarded as one of the founders of Israel's technology sector. Through personal meetings with the French government, he established collaboration treaties with France's nuclear industry in 1954. In 1958, he founded the re-organized RAFAEL Armament Development Authority, under the MOD's jurisdiction. From his desk he would control all aspects of Israel's nuclear program (first as Director-General and after 1959 as Deputy-Minister). In the 1980s, he is credited with having laid the economic foundations for Israel's start-up economy. In later years, he developed an obsessive fascination with nanotechnology and brain research. He believed that brain research would be the key to a better and more peaceful future. He launched his own nanotechnology investment fund in 2003, raising $5 million in the first week. In 2016, he founded the 'Israel innovation center' in the Arab neighbourhood of Ajami, Jaffa. The center aims to encourage young people from around the world to be inspired by technology. Laying its foundation stone on 21 July 2016, Peres said: “We will prove that innovation has no limits and no barriers. Innovation enables dialogue between nations and between people. It will enable all young people – Jews, Muslims and Christians — to engage in science and technology equally."

Post-presidency and death

Peres announced in April 2013 that he would not seek to extend his tenure beyond 2014. His successor, Reuven Rivlin, was elected on 10 June 2014 and took office on 24 July 2014.

In July 2016, Peres founded the 'Israel innovation center' in the Arab neighbourhood of Ajami, Jaffa, aiming to encourage young people from around the world to be inspired by technology.

On 13 September 2016, Peres suffered a severe stroke and was hospitalized at Sheba Medical Center. His condition was reported to be very serious, as he had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and significant bleeding. Two days later, he was reported as being in a serious but stable condition. However, on 26 September, an examination found irreversible damage to his brainstem, indicating that it was not possible for him to recover, and the following day, his medical condition deteriorated significantly. He died on 28 September at the age of 93.

Tributes

Sometimes people ask me, 'What is the greatest achievement you have reached in your lifetime?' So I reply that there was a great painter named Mordecai Ardon, who was asked which picture was the most beautiful he had ever painted. Ardon replied, 'The picture I will paint tomorrow.' That is also my answer.

— Shimon Peres, 2011.

On hearing of his death, tributes came from leaders across the world. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin said: "I was extremely lucky to have met this extraordinary man many times. And every time I admired his courage, patriotism, wisdom, vision and ability." The President of China, Xi Jinping said: "His death is the loss of an old friend for China." The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee said: "Peres would be remembered as a steadfast friend of India." The President of the United States, Barack Obama said: "I will always be grateful that I was able to call Shimon my friend."

Peres was described by The New York Times as having done "more than anyone to build up his country’s formidable military might, then [having] worked as hard to establish a lasting peace with Israel’s Arab neighbors."

Funeral

Peres's grave on the Great Leaders of the Nation section of Mount Herzl

The funeral was held at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on 30 September 2016, with his burial place in the Great Leaders of the Nation section between former Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Yitzhak Shamir.

About 4,000 mourners and world leaders from 75 countries attended the funeral, with President Barack Obama among those who gave a eulogy. Since the funeral for Nelson Mandela, this was only the second time Obama traveled overseas for the funeral of a foreign leader. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke. Among the other delegates in attendance and speaking were former President Bill Clinton. Other delegates included PA President Mahmoud Abbas, President François Hollande of France, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, German President Joachim Gauck, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and King Felipe VI of Spain. The UK delegation included Prince Charles, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, former Prime Ministers David Cameron, Gordon Brown, and Tony Blair, and Britain's chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

Personal life and family

In May 1945, Peres married Sonya Gelman, whom he had met in the Ben Shemen Youth Village, where her father served as a carpentry teacher. The couple married after Sonya finished her military service as a truck driver in the British Army during World War II. Through the years Sonya chose to stay away from the media and keep her privacy and the privacy of her family, despite her husband's extensive political career. Sonya Peres was unable to attend Shimon's 2007 presidential inauguration ceremony because of ill health. With the election of Peres for president, Sonya Peres, who had not wanted her husband to accept the position, announced that she would stay in the couple's apartment in Tel Aviv and not join her husband in Jerusalem. The couple thereafter lived separately. She died on 20 January 2011, aged 87, from heart failure at her apartment in Tel Aviv.

Shimon and Sonya Peres had three children:

Every woman is civilization itself.

— Shimon Peres, December 2015

• A daughter, Dr. Tsvia ("Tsiki") Walden, a linguist and professor at Beit Berl Academic College;
• An elder son, Yoni, director of Village Veterinary Center, a veterinary hospital on the campus of Kfar Hayarok Agricultural School near Tel Aviv. He specializes in the treatment of guide dogs;
• A younger son, Nehemia ("Chemi"), co-founder and Managing General Partner of Pitango Venture Capital, one of Israel's largest venture capital funds. Chemi Peres is a former helicopter pilot in the IAF.

Peres was a cousin of actress Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Persky), although the two only discovered this in the 1950s. He said: "In 1952 or 1953 I came to New York... Lauren Bacall called me, said that she wanted to meet, and we did. We sat and talked about where our families came from, and discovered that we were from the same family".

Poetry and song-writing

Peres was a lifelong writer of poetry and songs. As a child in Vishnyeva, Poland he learned to play the mandolin. He wrote his first song when he was 8. He was inspired to write, including during cabinet meetings. Many of his poems were turned into songs, with the proceedings of the albums going to charity. His songs have been performed by artists including Andrea Bocelli and Liel Kolet. The most recent of his songs was "Chinese Melody" (recorded in Mandarin with Chinese and Israeli musicians), released in February 2016, which he wrote to celebrate the Year of the Monkey (Music Video of 'Chinese Melody' on YouTube).

Use of social media

During his presidency (2007–2014), Shimon Peres was noted for his embrace of social media to communicate with the public, being described as "Israel's first social media president", which included producing comedic videos on his YouTube channel such as "Be my Friend for Peace" and "Former Israeli President Shimon Peres Goes Job Hunting". After retirement, he led a viral campaign to encourage children to study mathematics. In one video, he sends his answer to the teacher by throwing a paper plane (Video: Shimon Peres throws a paper airplane in the name of education on YouTube). According to The Wall Street Journal, his presence on platforms such as Snapchat, allowed him to "pack more punch—and humor—into the causes he championed, especially peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians."

Places named after Peres

Following his death, it was announced that Israel's Negev nuclear reactor and atomic research center, that had been constructed in 1958, would be named after Peres. Netanyahu stated: "Shimon Peres worked hard to establish this important facility, a facility which has been very important for Israel's security for generations.."

Published works

Peres at the 65th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ceremony with Polish president Lech Kaczyński, 2008

Shimon Peres is the author of 11 books, including:

• The Next Step (1965)
• David's Sling (1970) (ISBN 0-297-00083-7)
• And Now Tomorrow (1978)
• From These Men: seven founders of the State of Israel (1979) (ISBN 0-671-61016-3)
• Entebbe Diary (1991) (ISBN 965-248-111-4)
• The New Middle East (1993) (ISBN 0-8050-3323-8)
• Battling for Peace: A Memoir (1995) (ISBN 0-679-43617-0)
• For the Future of Israel (1998) (ISBN 0-8018-5928-X)
• The Imaginary Voyage: With Theodor Herzl in Israel (1999) (ISBN 1-55970-468-3)
• Ben Gurion: A Political Life (2011) (ISBN 978-0-8052-4282-9)

Awards and recognition

• 1957: Commander of the Legion of Honour.
• 1994, 10 December: Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.
• 2008, 18 November: Honorary doctorate of Law from King's College London.
• 2008, 20 November: Honorarily appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.
• 2012, 13 June: Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama.
• 2014, 19 May: The United States House of Representatives voted on H.R. 2939, a bill to award Peres the Congressional Gold Medal. The bill said that "Congress proclaims its unbreakable bond with Israel."
• 2015, 31 May: The Solomon Bublick Award of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in recognition of his contributions to the State of Israel, the pursuit of peace, higher education, and science and technology.

Overview of offices held

Peres twice officially served as prime minister (Israel's head of government). His first stint spanned from 13 September 1984 through 20 October 1986, leading the 21st government during the first half of the 11th Knesset. His second stint lasted from 4 November 1995 through 18 June 1996 (serving in an acting capacity from 4 November through 22 November 1995; and in permanent capacity thereafter), leading the 25th government as interim prime minister and the 26th government as permanent prime minister during the latter portion of the 13th Knesset. In addition to these two official stints as prime minister, Peres is also considered to have served as the de facto acting prime minister from 22 April through 21 June 1977 (with Yitzhak Rabin remaining the de jure prime minister). Peres served as president (Israel's head of state) from 15 July 2007 through 24 July 2014. Peres was a member of the Knesset (Israel's legislature), first from November 1959 through 15 January 2006 (a record 47-year tenure), and again from March 2006 through 13 June 2007. His overall Knesset tenure of 48 years is the longest tenure in the history of the Knesset.

Peres, four times, served as the leader of the Knesset's opposition. For his first three stints in this role, the opposition leader was an unofficial and honorary role. His final stint in the position came after Knesset formalized the role as an official position. Peres was the unofficial opposition leader from 20 June 1977 through 13 September 1984, during the enirety of the 9th and 10th Knessets. During this stint, he led the opposition to the Menachem Begin-led 18th and 19th governments and the Yitzhak Shamir-led 20th government of Israel. His second stint as opposition lasted from 15 March 1990 through 13 July 1992, when in lead the opposition to the Yitzhak Shamir-led 24th government during a portion of the 12th Knesset. Peres' third stint lasted from 18 June 1996 to 1 July 1997, and saw him lead the opposition to the Benjamin Netanyahu-led 24th government during a portion of the 14th Knesset. Peres' final stint as opposition leader lasted from 25 June 2003 through 10 January 2005, and saw him lead the opposition to the Ariel Sharon-led 30th government during a portion of the sixteenth Knesset.

Labor Party leadership

Peres thrice served as leader of the Israeli Labor Party.

Tenures as Labor Party leader

Tenure	Predecessor	Successor	Knesset elections as leader	Elected/reelected as leader
December 1977–February 1992	Yitzhak Rabin	Yitzhak Rabin	1977 1981 1984 1988	1977 (Apr), 1980, 1984
November 1995–June 1997	Yitzhak Rabin	Ehud Barak	1996	1995
June 2003–November 2005 (interim leader)	Amram Mitzna	Amir Peretz		2003

Ministerial posts

Peres held numerous ministerial posts over the course of his Knesset tenure. He held major ministerial posts in twelve governments.

Ministerial posts

Ministerial post	Tenure	Prime Minister(s)	Government(s)	Predecessor	Successor
Deputy Minister of Defense	21 December 1959–25 May 1965	David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol	9, 10, 11, 12	office established	Zvi Dinstein
Minister without Portfolio	15 December 1969–22 December 1969	Golda Meir	15	N/A
Minister of Immigrant Absorbtion	22 December 1969–July 27, 1970	Golda Meir	15	Yigal Allon	Natan Peled
Minister of Communications	1 September 1970–10 March 1974	Golda Meir	15	Elimelekh Rimalt	Aharon Uzan
Minister of Transporation	1 September 1970–10 March 1974	Golda Meir	15	Ezer Weizman	Aharon Yariv
Minister of Information	10 March 1974–3 June 1974	Golda Meir	16	office established	Aharon Yariv
Minister of Defense (first tenure)	3 June 1974–20 June 1977	Yitzhak Rabin	17	Moshe Dayan	Ezer Weizman
Minister of Internal Affairs	13 September 1984–24 December 1984	Shimon Peres	21	Yosef Burg	Yitzhak Peretz
Minister of Religious Affairs	13 September 1984–23 December 1984	Shimon Peres	21	Yosef Burg	Yosef Burg⋅
Designated Acting Prime Minister	20 October 1986–15 March 1990	Yitzhak Shamir	22, 23	Yitzhak Shamir	Ehud Olmert (2003)
Minister of Foreign Affairs (first tenure)	20 October 1986–23 December 1988	Yitzhak Shamir	22	Yitzhak Shamir	Moshe Arens
Minister of Finance	22 December 1988–15 March 1990	Yitzhak Shamir	23	Moshe Nissim	Yitzhak Shamir
Minister of Foreign Affairs (second tenure)	14 July 1992–22 November 1995	Yitzhak Rabin (until 4 November 1995) Shimon Peres (interim after 4 November 1995)	25	David Levy	Ehud Barak
Minister of Defense (second tenure)	November 1995–18 June 1996	Shimon Peres	25, 26	Yitzhak Rabin	Yitzhak Mordechai
Minister of Regional Co-operation	6 July 1999–7 March 2001	Ehud Barak	28	office established	Tzipi Livni
Deputy Prime Minister (serving alongside Silvan Shalom, Natan Sharansky, and Eli Yishai)	7 March 2001–2 November 2002	Ariel Sharon	29	Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Minister of Foreign Affairs (third tenure)	7 March 2001–2 October 2002	Ariel Sharon	29	Shlomo Ben-Ami	Ariel Sharon
Vice Prime Minister (first tenure)	10 January 2005–23 November 2005	Ariel Sharon	30	office established
Vice Prime Minister (second tenure)	10 January 2006–13 June 2007	Ehud Olmert	31		Haim Ramon
Minister for the Development of the Negev, Galilee and Regional Economy	10 January 2006–13 June 2007	Ehud Olmert	31	office established	Yaakov Edri

Electoral history

1996 direct election for Prime Minister

1996 Israeli prime ministerial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Likud	Benjamin Netanyahu	1,501,023	50.50
	Labor	Shimon Peres (incumbent)	1,471,566	49.50
Total votes			2,972,589	100

2007 presidential election

2007 Israeli presidential election
Party		Candidate	First round		Second round
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Kadima	Shimon Peres	58	52.73	86	78.90
	Likud	Reuven Rivlin	31	28.18
	Labor	Colette Avital	21	19.09
		Against			23	19.10
Total			110	100	109	100

Party leadership elections

1974 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Yitzhak Rabin		298	53.99
Shimon Peres		254	46.02
Total votes		552	100

February 1977 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Yitzhak Rabin (incumbent)		1,445	50.72
Shimon Peres		1,404	49.28
Total votes		1,997	100

April 1977 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Shimon Peres		unchallenged (acclamation)	100

1980 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Shimon Peres (incumbent)		2,123	70.81
Yitzhak Rabin		875	29.19
Total votes		2,998	100

1984 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Shimon Peres (incumbent)		unchallenged	100

1992 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Yizhak Rabin			40.6
Shimon Peres (incumbent)			34.5
Yisrael Kessar			19.0
Ora Namir			5.5
Total votes		108,347	100
Voter turnout		70.10%

2003 Israeli Labor Party interim leader election

Candidate		Votes	%
Shimon Peres

2005 Israeli Labor Party leadership election

Candidate		Votes	%
Amir Peretz			42.3
Shimon Peres (interim incumbent)			40.0
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer			16.8
Voter turnout		63.9%

See also

• List of Israeli Nobel laureates
• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

Further reading

• Bar-Zohar, Michael. Shimon Peres: The Biography (Random House, 2007).
• Crichlow, Scott. "Idealism or Pragmatism? An Operational Code Analysis of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres." Political Psychology 19.4 (1998): 683-706.
• Golan, Matti. The Road to Peace: A Biography of Shimon Peres (Grand Central Pub, 1989).
• Weiner, Justus R. "An Analysis of the Oslo II Agreement in Light of the Expectations of Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas." Michigan Journal of International Law 17.3 (1996): 667-704. online
• Ziv, Guy. Why hawks become doves: Shimon Peres and foreign policy change in Israel (SUNY Press, 2014).
• Ziv, Guy. "Shimon Peres and the French-Israeli Alliance, 1954–9." Journal of Contemporary History 45.2 (2010): 406-429. online
• Ziv, Guy. "The Triumph of agency over structure: Shimon Peres and the Israeli nuclear program." International negotiation 20.2 (2015): 218-241. online

External links

• Official Israeli Presidency website
• Shimon Peres on the Knesset website
• Official channel on YouTube
• The day Peres became a Sheikh!(in Persian)
• Peres Center for Peace
• Biography at the Encyclopædia Britannica
• Shimon Peres on Nobelprize.org with the Nobel Lecture
• Shimon Peres biography at the Jewish Virtual Library
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Shimon Peres on Charlie Rose
• Column archive at The Guardian
• Shimon Peres collected news and commentary at Ha'aretz
• Shimon Peres collected news and commentary at The Jerusalem Post
• "Shimon Peres collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
• BBC – Sharon seals new Israel coalition
• Peres's metaphysical propensity to lose by Matthew Wagner, published in The Jerusalem Post, November 10, 2005.
• Former Labor Leader Shimon Peres Heading For Sharon's new party – recorded Report from IsraCast.
• Shimon Peres speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations about the Israel/Lebanon conflict on July 31, 2006
• Shimon Peres speaks at Cornell University – "A Conversation with Shimon Peres"
• "Presidency rounds off 66-year career" by Amiram Barkat, Haaretz
• President Peres's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 24, 2008
• Segment Interview on YouTube by Leon Charney on The Leon Charney Report
• Full Interview on YouTube by Leon Charney on The Leon Charney Report