Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres heads to Jhb
There is much excitement within the South African Jewish community around the visit of Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres. Mr Peres is a former President and Prime Minister of the State of Israel and will be in Johannesburg for one night only, in what promises to be a never to be repeated experience.
At 92 years’ old, Peres is the last of Israel’s founding generation. He was first elected in 1959 to the Knesset and held the post for 48 years, the longest ever term of service for an Israeli parliamentarian. Having recently retired as Israel’s president, he shows no sign of slowing down in his quest for peace. He will bring his unique brand of oratorical excellence, intellectual brilliance and wit to South Africa. For more info on his life see his Noble Prize profile here:
During his long service Peres is credited with creating the initial agreement that lead to peace with Egypt and was a key actor in the peace negotiations with Jordan. He was also in charge of the peace process with the Palestinians that led to the creation of the Oslo Accords. This earned him a Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. He was part of the delegation that welcomed President Nelson Mandela during his inaugural visit to Israel. He also met with Mandela during his visit to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.
(See here for a photo of the meeting between Mr Mandela and Mr Shimon Peres).
Whilst exuding old world charm, Peres has successfully embraced 21st Century techniques in promoting his peace making agenda In 2012 he launched the “Be My Friend for Peace” campaign with CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg. This utilized his personal facebook page to reach youth in the Arab world.
In 1996 he launched the Peres Centre for Peace, promoting lasting peace and advancement in the Middle East by fostering tolerance, economic and technological development and cooperation. Using sport as a means toward promoting peace is a big part of the centres program and their joint Arab-Jewish soccer teams regularly play in co-existence tournaments in South Africa. You can see their work here.
Peres will be meeting with high level officials during his visit to South Africa, with these expected to lead to further engagements and strengthening of ties in the future.
Statement issued by the SAZF and SAJBD, 22 February 2016
