{"id":12726,"date":"2016-09-30T08:52:16","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T08:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=12726"},"modified":"2016-09-30T08:54:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T08:54:55","slug":"world-leaders-gather-for-a-final-farewell-to-former-israeli-leader-shimon-peres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/world-leaders-gather-for-a-final-farewell-to-former-israeli-leader-shimon-peres.html","title":{"rendered":"World leaders gather for a final farewell to former Israeli leader Shimon Peres"},"content":{"rendered":"

World leaders gather for a final farewell to former Israeli leader Shimon Peres<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

World leaders gather for a final farewell to former Israeli leader Shimon Peres<\/strong> : JERUSALEM \u2014 On a cloudless blue morning, an honor guard brought the flag-draped casket of Shimon Peres to the Mt. Herzl national cemetery on Friday as 100 world leaders and dignitaries from 70 countries began to assemble to bid a final farewell to the former Israeli leader and Nobel laureate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking in a rough voice, former president Bill Clinton praised Peres as a leader who experienced \u201ccrushing setbacks\u201d \u2014 in politics, in his efforts for peace \u2014 and woke up \u201cto seize the possibilities of each new day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clinton knew Peres intimately over a quarter century. Alongside former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the two of them hammered out the details of the Oslo Accords, the frame that launched the now stalled peace process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clinton said Peres started life as Israel\u2019s best student, became its best teacher \u201cand ended his life as its greatest dreamer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The former president said it is not easy to move past defeat. \u201cIt must have been hard for him to do this,\u201d he said. \u201cFirst he had to master his own demons, forgive himself for his own mistakes and get over his own disappointments.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This \u201cmonumental effort required that he grew his heart to be bigger than his brain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Clinton made an appeal to the audience at the funeral and watching on satellite broadcasts to \u201ckeep his gifts alive.\u201d When the road ahead comes to a dead end, \u201cwhen the hand of friendship meets only a cold stare, remember his luminous smile.\u201d Then Clinton paused. \u201cAnd imagine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave his eulogy in a mixture of Hebrew and English and said Peres, \u201csoared to incredible heights. He was a great man of Israel and a great man of the world. We find hope in his legacy as does the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no secret that we were political rivals, but over the years we became good friends,\u201d Netanyahu said. \u201cShimon and I disagreed about many things but that never overshadowed many warm discussions. Our friendship deepened with every meeting. In our discussions of a fundamental issue, security versus peace, Shimon told me, \u2018Peace is the true security. If there will be peace, there will be security.\u2019 I told him, security is essential for achieving peace and maintaining it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Netanyahu continued: \u201cWe went back and forth for hours. I came from the right, he from the left, I came again from the right, he again from the left. Like two prize fighters we put down our gloves. I saw his eyes and he saw in mine, the deep seated beliefs to ensure the future of Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who gave his eulogy first, spoke in familiar terms \u201cas one president to another.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Israeli president said Peres\u2019s death represented \u201cthe end of the era of giants whose life stories are the stories of the Zionist movement and the State of the Israel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rivlin also asked forgiveness from Peres for the times in their long career when they clashed. \u201cRed lines were crossed between ideological disputes and words and deeds which had no place,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The state funeral for Peres is one of the largest in Israel since the 1995 burial of Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister who was assassinated by a Jewish extremist who opposed the efforts of Rabin and Peres to make peace with the Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peres will be buried beside Rabin.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was closed to traffic Friday morning to allow incoming world leaders to quickly get into the holy city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the guests from the U.S. delegation are President Obama and former president Bill Clinton. Both men, well-known for their oratory, will give eulogies. So will Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and one of Peres\u2019s old friends, the well-known Israeli writer Amos Oz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas arrived and took a seat beside Donald Tusk, president of the European Council.<\/span><\/p>\n

Peres, the 93-year-old former prime minister, president and Nobel Peace Prize winner died at a Tel Aviv hospital before dawn Wednesday from complications of a massive stroke suffered two weeks earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Until the stroke earlier this month, Peres was keeping a full schedule, meeting with visiting U.S. senators, school children and activists. He was still enjoying the occasional glass of wine and working on a book. On his 93rd birthday, he joined Snapchat.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ceremony is taking place on the hilltop with large television screens set amid the pine trees. Translation are provided for the guests in Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian and other languages.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 8,000 Israeli police officers were deployed on Friday and there was tight security with road closures.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel police chief Roni Alsheich told reporters Thursday that security forces carried out \u201cpreventative arrests\u201d of several Jewish and Arab suspects \u201cout of fear that they could cause problems at the state funeral.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Thursday, an estimated 35,000 Israelis, alongside tourists, diplomats, political leaders and a former U.S. president, climbed the hill to the Israel parliament to pay their respects before the flag-draped casket of Peres, one of last of the original founders of the Jewish state.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 90 delegations from 70 countries are expected at the funeral.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jordan sent its deputy prime minister and former chief peace negotiator Jawad Anani. Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah II sent a note of condolences, but no member of the royal family attended. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry came, but not the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. Turkey sent Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to Obama, the Israel Foreign Ministry reported that the national leaders and dignitaries who are expected to attend the Friday funeral include French President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande, German President Joachim Gauck and Mexican President Enrique Pe\u00f1a Nieto.<\/span><\/p>\n

The British delegation is led by Charles Prince of Wales, alongside former British prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/strong> : https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/obama-and-world-leaders-attend-funeral-for-israeli-leader-shimon-peres\/2016\/09\/30\/0d993382-868a-11e6-b57d-dd49277af02f_story.html<\/span><\/p>\n

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