UN commemorates Shimon Peres with new releases of former Israeli PM's speeches

Published: JUNE 2, 2023 14:31

THEN-FOREIGN MINISTER Shimon Peres signs the Oslo Accords, witnessed by (from R) PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and US president Bill Clinton, at the White House, Sept. 13, 1993. (photo credit: GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS) — THEN-FOREIGN MINISTER Shimon Peres signs the Oslo Accords, witnessed by (from R) PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and US president Bill Clinton, at the White House, Sept. 13, 1993.

(photo credit: GARY HERSHORN/REUTERS)

14 of the former-Presidents speeches were published and a fellowship has been launched in his name.

Speeches from former-President Shimon Peres were published in an event at the United Nations in Geneva on Thursday held by the UN University for Peace, Reichman University, the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and the World Jewish Congress.

The speeches were published under the title The Shimon Peres Legacy of Peace through Fourteen Historical Speeches in commemoration of what would have been the former president’s 100th birthday. Peres past away in 2016.

The book of speeches features numerous contributions from public figures such as Chemi Peres, Chairperson of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, Annyssa Bellal, Coordinator of the Geneva Peace Building Platform, Pierre Besnainou, Honorary Fellow at Reichman University, Francisco Rojas Aravena, Rector of UPEACE, Miguel Angel Moratinos, High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations, Enrique Baron Crespo, Chancellor of UPEACE and former President of the European Parliament, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President of the Foundation Culture of Peace and former Director-General of UNESCO, Alex Mejia, Director of UNITAR, Alexandro Papaioannou, Ambassador of Greece, Nadav Tamir, The Peres Center's senior advisor, and Carmen Parra, UNESCO Chair at Abat Oliba University CEU.

At the event, international figures, like the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, issued statements on Peres.

The 14 speeches include Peres' speech given at the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty ceremony, his speech given in Knesset on the Egyptian peace treaty in 1979 and the eulogy he gave at Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in 1994.

Event at the UN marks Shimon Peres's legacy, June 1 2023 (credit: Photo Credit: Samuel Mungai UNITAR)

The legacy of Shimon Peres

Peres, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his peace efforts, is remembered for architecting the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO, the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan and his devotion to the Jewish state.

“People said that I’m a dreamer,” Peres once said. “It’s true. But ask me this: What’s wrong? Who said people who don’t dream are right?”

The commemoration was also taken as an opportunity for the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University to announce the establishment of the Shimon Peres Fellowship. The fellowship, sponsored by the Besnainou family, aims to encourage students to devote efforts to peace-related projects and “undertake initiatives that enhance prosperity and stability in the region,” according to a press release. Students granted this fellowship will receive 25,000 NIS and be honored in a ceremony for their efforts.