“Let’s work together and build together, and as we do that, the real solution will begin…the real healing process will begin, and we will erode the distrust of the past.”

Born in Wolozyn, Poland, in 1923, Shimon Peres immigrated with his family to Palestine in 1934. He became an activist while living on a kibbutz as a youth. His long career in public service began at age twenty-four, when Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, appointed him head of the new state’s navy. Peres went on to serve as a member of the Knesset, minister of defense, finance minister, and prime minister. As Israel’s foreign minister, Peres shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization Chairman Yasir Arafat for their negotiations toward a peace accord. In June of 2007, Peres was elected President of the state of Israel for a 7-year term.