Shimon Peres

Previous President of Israel, born August 21, 1923 in Vishneva in White Russia (then Poland) near Volozhin, to Yitzhak and Sara Persky. In 1931 his father, Yitzhak Persky, immigrated to Palestine. His family followed two years later. Peres was initially enrolled in the Balfour "High School," and then the Balfour "Elementary School" in Tel-Aviv. It’s no exaggeration to say Mr. Peres’ contributions to the Zionist project in Palestine and the sufferings of the Palestinians and Arabs have not stopped once since the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1947-1949. His record includes his role in searching for talented officers to join the Haganah terrorist militias — Ben Gurion’s military gang and the predecessor of the Israeli army — which has led to acts of terrorism, killing and forced expulsion against the Palestinians since 1947. Peres became a member of the Haganah’s high command in May 1947 where he was responsible for manpower and arms purchases and production.

Yet, in 1994 he won the Nobel Peace Prize to create Peace in the Middle East. In the mid 1950s, he introduced nuclear armament to the Middle East when he reached a secret agreement with the French government whereby France agreed to supply Israel with the Dimona Reactor for the express purpose of developing an arsenal of nuclear bombs and warheads. In Israel, the office of the president is meant to be ceremonial. But at 86, President Shimon Peres, the last founder of the Jewish state to remain active in Israeli politics and a frequent counselor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, hardly stays on the sidelines. His sentiments regarding the Goldstone report: "Everyone here is talking about the Goldstone report. Now it has gone to the Security Council. Do you think it puts Israel in a corner that it's impossible to get out of? I think it's a great victory for terror. Never before did any terrorist organization gain such recognition, in the most unfair way." The Israeli President is one of the strongest advocates for bringing the Iranian nuclear program to a halt at any cost even if military intervention is required.