Obama, George H.W. Bush mourn death of Israel’s Shimon Peres

President Obama is praising Shimon Peres, saying no one has done more than the former Israeli president, who died Wednesday, to “build the alliance between our two countries.” 

{mosads}”Tonight, Michelle and I join people across Israel, the United States and around the world in honoring the extraordinary life of our dear friend Shimon Peres—a Founding Father of the State of Israel and a statesman whose commitment to Israel’s security and pursuit of peace was rooted in his own unshakeable moral foundation and unflagging optimism,” Obama said in a statement. 

“He was guided by a vision of the human dignity and progress that he knew people of goodwill could advance together. He brought young people from around the world together because he knew they could carry us closer to our ideals of justice and equality.”

The 93-year-old Peres died Wednesday after suffering a stroke two weeks ago. He retired from public office in 2015 after serving as president for seven years. He also served as minister of defense and prime minister.

“Shimon was the essence of Israel itself—the courage of Israel’s fight for independence, the optimism he shared with his wife Sonya as they helped make the desert bloom, and the perseverance that led him to serve his nation in virtually every position in government across the entire life of the State of Israel,” Obama said. 

“As Americans, we are in his debt because, having worked with every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy, no one did more over so many years as Shimon Peres to build the alliance between our two countries—an unbreakable alliance that today is closer and stronger than it has ever been.”

Former President George H. W. Bush also praised Peres’s “unyielding determination and principle.” 

“Shimon Peres time and again helped guide his beloved country through the crucible of mortal challenge. But it was by his innate humanity, his decency, that Shimon inspired the world over and helped pave a path to peace broad enough that future generations will walk it one day, side-by side,” Bush said in a statement.