Shimon Peres, Israel’s former Prime Minister, President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died early Wednesday at the age of 93. Thursday morning, I wanted to walk by and pay my respects.
One of the things that Peres was well known for is simple honesty and humble leadership. He once said: “There were three things Ben-Gurion knew he could trust me on: That I would never say anything to him that wasn’t true, that I would never speak ill of another person, and that I would never seek anything for myself.”
Peres main work involved setting up Israel’s defense infrastructure. He brought in advanced weaponry for the IDF and developed its military and aerial industries. He also was a key founder in Israel’s nuclear program.
“My goal in life was to serve my people, and the most important service for the Jewish people is building the land, and the basics of building the people and the country is working the land… without that, there cannot be an attachment to the land, a grip will not be probable if you get disconnected from the land. We have enough doctors and professors and other learned people. Hebrew youths! We need simple workers of the land.”
