Shimon Peres news stories on Newser

Bob Dylan to Get Presidential Medal of Freedom

John Johnson — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:41:19 CDT

Bob Dylan will get the nation's highest civilian honor later this spring, reports Bloomberg . Dylan, 70, will be one of 13 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He's already got scores of Grammys, an Oscar, and a Pulitzer, and the Wall Street Journal 's Speakeasy blog can't help but...

Obama Assures AIPAC: 'I Have Israel's Back'

Neal Colgrass — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:31:24 CST

President Obama followed a speech by Israeli President Shimon Peres at AIPAC today with a blunt assessment about Israel: “There should not be a shred of doubt by now: when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back." He reminded the audience of recent US aid to the Jewish state...

Israel's Peres: Iran 'Will Be Stopped'

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 10:39:47 CST

Israeli President Shimon Peres took the stage at AIPAC today with Iran squarely in his crosshairs: Speaking just before President Obama, CNN reports that Peres said that while "peace is always our first option ... if we are forced to fight, trust me, we shall prevail." Peres minced no words, declaring...

Peres Calls British Anti-Semites

Jane Yager — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 03:40:36 CDT

Shimon Peres is furiously backpedaling after accusing the UK of anti-Semitism, a comment that enraged the British public, who still deeply identify as the country that "stood alone against Nazi Germany during the Second World War," the Telegraph reports. The Israeli president "never accused the British people of anti-Semitism,” his...

Memos: Israel Offered to Sell Nuclear Weapons to South Africa

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:07:00 CDT

Israel offered to sell South Africa's apartheid government nuclear weapons, according to recently declassified documents, reports the Guardian —a claim Israeli President Shimon Peres categorically denies. In minutes of top secret 1975 meetings, Peres, then defense minister, offered to sell nuclear-capable Jericho missiles to South African Defense Minister PW Botha....

Obama to Moderate Abbas-Netanyahu Meeting: Peres

Harry Kimball — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:03 CDT

President Obama will play moderator to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a meeting at the UN before the end of next month, Israeli President Shimon Peres tells Fox News. “I think they will meet by the end of September,” he says. "President Obama will...

Israeli Prez on Iranian Prez: 'We'll Strike Him'

Rob Quinn — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:16:00 CDT

Israel's new government continued its saber-rattling with Iran today, threatening to strike the country if President Obama's diplomatic overtures fail, the Jerusalem Post reports. Echoing the hardline rhetoric of new Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres issued a warning to Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We'll strike him" if Obama...

Israeli Prez Follows Obama in Appeal to Iranians

Kevin Spak — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:54:38 CDT

Following President Obama's video message to Iran, Shimon Peres issued an audio address today, urging Iranians to reject the rule of their “oppressive and fanatical regime” and “reclaim their worthy place among the nations of the enlightened world.” The Israeli president's message, delivered partly in Farsi, was broadcast over Israel...

Netanyahu to Form Israeli Government

Matt Cantor — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:08:01 CST

Right-of-center Benjamin Netanyahu has been asked to form Israel’s new government, despite President Shimon Peres’s initial hopes that Netanyahu would share power with centrist Tzipi Livni, who was the top vote-getter in the election last week. Livni said she would prefer to head the opposition, the BBC reports. A coalition...