Netanyahu says Dimona nuclear reactor to be named for Peres

  -- Times of Israel

Wait - what nuclear reactor? The nuclear reactor we never admitted to having?

yes, Shimon Peres, our Shimon Peres, has been busy in retirement and has written a song to celebrate the Chinese New Year..

kol isha alert

Much of Israel got nervous/sad yesterday when rumors spread the Shimon Peres had died.

It turns out it was a misunderstanding. Peres released a notice that he is alive and well. It turns out someone else with the same name had died. That guy was probably much younger than our former president.

I do think though that Peres's office should have included in their press release a picture of Peres holding up the day's newspaper, to dispel any further rumors. Just saying he is alive doesn't mean much without visible confirmation. Maybe he is really off in hiding with Yitzchak Rabin, Elvis and JFK... only a picture of him, holding the day's newspaper like hostages do to prove life, would work.

Yes, this is a joke. To think Peres would pass away and it would not make the news but only spread via rumors on Whatsapp is silly

Shimon Peres is the presenter for Bennet's plan to increase the number of students taking 5 units in the bagrut of mathematics...

Shimon Peres cleared out of the President's office a few months ago. Just because he is over 90 years old, does not mean he has to now sit at home and enjoy living off his pension.

Shimon Peres got a job. Peres even put out a video showing his job hunt experiences a little while back - to remind you:

So, Shimon Peres got a job.

TheMarker reports that Shimon Peres has gotten a new job, and it is not in the political arena. Peres will be working as a presenter for Bank Hapoalim. He will be earning 30,000nis per month in his new position.

Some are criticizing the move. I don't see what the big deal is. Is a former president only allowed to go on speaking tours and play golf? This is a respectable job and it does not, in my opinion, reflect poorly on the position of the presidency.

Under Netanyahu's rule as Prime Minister and Finance Minister, even elderly people can get jobs. Unemployment just came down another bit.

If we would have had the IDF in the time of the Nazis - Hitler would never have been able to carry out the Holocaust.. Jews will never again go like sheep to the slaughter.

  -- Shimon Peres, at a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem

you can't reject or belittle the details of the report. You cannot feed the children and elderly who are starving with declarations. We are taking the future from our kids. If we do not put this at the top of our priorities, we might win the battle but we will lose our children. These are our soldiers of the future and these are the people who grew up with us. Just as we knew how to raise money for security and war, we are also obligated now to raise money to deal with poverty.

  -- Shimon Peres

he's right, but he has never really done anything about it either, in all his years in leadership positions. Not even when he was spending tens of millions of dollars on his annual birthday bash.

Peres looks a little disoriented..

Peres always had a good sense of humor...

The Jewish nation is an ancient one. It negated foreign gods and negated idol worship. It has suffered many hardships, but has continued to believe in one God, our Father in Heaven..

  -- President Shimon Peres, greeting the Pope in Ben Gurion Airport

always interesting to hear Israel's history from someone who lived it...

interesting that when talking peace and the interviewer tries to get Peres to blame Bibi for the peace deal that fell through, she talks about a leader that needs to make the tough decisions to make peace, and she points to ben Gurion, rather than to Menachem Begin who made peace with Egypt or Yitzchak Rabin who made peace with Jordan...

There are still buds and hopes.. we must encourage them and work hard.. we cannot say kaddish [on the peace process].. we must do everything possible to protect the continuation of  the negotiations..

 -- President Shimon Peres

President Shimon Peres is now the holder of a record in the Guiness Book of World Records, in addition to all his other accolades. Mazel tov!

No, Peres's record is not as the longest serving politician, nor is it for the oldest living politician. It is for teaching the largest class in the world.

Shimon Peres this morning taught an online class in Civics to more than 9,000 students, both jews and Arabs, from 215 classes between 9th and 12th grade of the "Amal" chain of schools in Israel.

The record has been confirmed by the authorities over at Guiness, and it officially was the largest class of students all in the same lesson.

President Peres transmitted his lesson from the headquarters of Cisco in Netanya. The VP of Guiness Global flew in today and was present at the event. After it is confirmed, he will announce the record  and enter it into the record books.

The Guiness guy actually complimented Peres and then told him that he actually had set a second record as well. That is, Shimon Peres is the oldest head of state in the world. It might not qualify for Guiness, but it is a record in its own right.
source: Srugim

congrats to the President!

President Shimon Peres today awarded 8 recipients with the "President's Award".

From the website of the President:

The President’s Award is an award conferred by the President of the State of Israel on individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the State of Israel or to humanity, through their talents, services, or in any other form.
The object of the award is to enable the President of Israel to express his appreciation and esteem to deserving individuals, and at the same time, use this award as a means to motivate others to contribute their talents and efforts for the well-being of the State of Israel and to improve the world.
The President’s Award will be presented to a candidate who meets at least one of the following criteria:
A. A candidate who has made a unique contribution to the State of Israel, or to improving the world, or has made a mark on society in an area relating to his/her activities or achievements.
B. A candidate who has enhanced the prestige of the State of Israel and significantly contributed to its image in the world.
C. A candidate who serves as a model and example in entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity and vision.
The contribution can be in the form of a single deed or ongoing activity. Working alongside the President will be an advisory committee that will present the President with appropriate nominees for the President’s Award.

This years recipients are:
 * Avigdor Kahalani for his courage and leadership in the Yom Kippur War, as well as his contributions to Israel's security and his work on behalf of the soldiers of the IDF
 * Avner Shelo, the Director of Yad VaShem, for working tirelessly to imbue Jewish-Zionist and universal values into Israeli society and the world, specifically in relation to the memory of the Holocaust.
 * Lea Van-Lear, for her work on behalf of the advancement of the Israeli theater.
 * Rav Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, for his work in Israeli society on behalf of youth and children in distress, and advancement of the periphery.
 * Rav Elimelech Firer, director of Ezra UMarpeh, for his work on behalf of assisting sick people.
 * Dr. Tzvi Tavor, for his work  int he fields of science and his quest for finding alternative sources of energy, concentrating on the use of solar energy.
 * Avi Naor, founder of Ohr Yarok, for his work regarding road safety, towards saving lives in traffic accidents.
 * Jack Mahper, for his philanthropic work

At least 1/4 of the recipients of the President's Award, this year, are religious and even Haredi. Does this point to any anti-haredi or anti-religious bias in the upper echelons of government?

The past 5 years there has been an annual conference in Jerusalem called The President's Conference. President Shimon Peres was behind it. The conference took place in the International Convention Center, Binyanei HaUma, and it was an elegant and prestigious affair. World leaders from all walks of life flew to Israel to be a part of it. Leading politicians, businessmen, doctors, economists, environmentalists, social entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists, religious leaders, academics, entertainers, and on and on (and even Dr. Ruth Westheimer!). They would come and talk about what needs to be done, what is being done, what Israel is doing, how Israel is a leader in this or that.

A lot of pomp and circumstance.

The past couple of years saw the conference come under a lot of criticism. Some were upset that one could not find an Israeli flag anywhere near the conference. Others were upset with the high cost of the event. Even though it was funded by private donations and was not coming from the taxpayers pockets, many people thought it inappropriate to have such an expensive event at a time when so  many Israelis are having a hard time making it to the end of the month.

Personally, I felt that even if it was a bit "over the top" it was still worth it. it brought great PR to Israel on the world stage, it brought world leaders to Israel, it had world leaders talking nicely about Israel, and I am sure many of the workshops probably spurred ideas for innovation and/or improvement in various fields. Maybe certain things could have been changed, I don't know, but overall I think it was a positive event that was worth having, especially as it came at no cost to the taxpayer.

Unfortunately, the President's Conference is no more.

Walla News is reporting, and one of the organizers confirmed it for me, that there will be no President's Conference this year, and probably not at all in the future.

There were actually two problems with the upcoming President's Conference:
1. it has been held annually in June, and this years conference would have been very close to the time in which Shimon Peres would finish his term as president and a new president would be stepping in.
2. The cost, and according to Walla the criticism as a result of the cost.

It is a shame that the conference is being canceled. It could have been scaled down a bit, the schedule changed - the issues do not seem so major that they could not be overcome.