Pro-Israel leaders discuss the late Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday

UPDATED THURSDAY, 11:30 P.M.

Roz Rothstein, CEO of pro-Israel organization StandWithUs, released a statement on Sept. 28 highlight Peres' persistence in his pursuit for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Even when ending conflict seemed distant, Peres never lost hope and launched a multitude of efforts aimed at building peace between Arabs and Jews,” Rothstein said. 

In an email, StandWithUs Israel Director Michael Dickson reflected on the strong relationship between Peres and StandWithUs, which, among other things, equips pro-Israel students on college campuses to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS) movement.

Video courtesy of standwithus.com

“Shimon Peres recognized the need for and supported the work of StandWithUs. He saw the relationship between Israel and its Diaspora as symbiotic and applauded all efforts to build bridges between Israel and the wider world,” Dickson said. “‘StandWithUs should have an additional name,’ he told us. ‘We stand with you.’ “

UPDATED WENDESDAY 3:19 P.M.

The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles released the following statement:

“The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, along with the people of Israel are mourning the passing of Israel's 9th President and former Prime Minister, Shimon Peres – a man whose personal story was inexplicably intertwined into the history of the state of Israel. The last of the founding fathers of the state of Israel, President Peres dedicated his life to Israel's future and security, and worked tirelessly to build Israel's defense industry and to achieve peace between Israel, Palestinians and the neighboring Arab countries. President Peres was a man of vision who stood firm in his belief that optimism and faith are moral imperatives. With a career spanning more than seven decades, President Peres was a true servant of the state of Israel. A Nobel Peace Prize winner, President Peres was loved and appreciated by leaders across the globe. His larger than life personality will be missed by all. President Peres's legacy will remain as a sound reminder that we must continue to advocate and fight for peace and work together to build a brighter future for all. He leaves behind three children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

“A book of condolences has been opened and will be available for signing at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles, located at 11766 Wilshire Blvd., on Friday, September 30th – 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM, Wednesday, October 5thand Thursday, October 6th from 11:00AM to 5:00PM.”

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 3:13 P.M.

Pico Shul Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, who formerly ran the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation with his wife, Rachel, in Poland, recalled when Peres, then the Israeli Foreign Minister, visited the Poland presidential palace in 2001 and wowed attendees of a luncheon there with his “elegant and fluent Polish.”

“Peres was a truly legendary figure, an integral part of the miracle of modern Israel from its first breath,” Bookstein said. “Yet, he always remembered where he came from, and honored his ancestors and all of us with his life’s work.”

Peres was born Syzmon Persky on Aug. 2, 1923 in a village of Poland that is now in Belarus.

Bookstein.

To read Bookstein's article, “Peres in Poland,” click here.

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 12:30 P.M.

Peres wrote the introduction to the Hebrew version of “The End of Illness,” the first book by Dr. David Agus, professor of medicine and engineering at the USC Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering.

“I am in the air now on the way to the funeral for President Peres,” Agus said in an email on Wednesday afternoon. “I lost my mentor and close friend yesterday, Shimon Peres. When my first book came out in Israel, he wrote the intro as a surprise gift. He described how when the mirror first came out, the world changed. All of a sudden we care how'd we looked and interacted, because we could now see ourselves. He said the technology in the book was the new mirror. Such a beautiful way of looking at the world.

“I loved him,” Agus said. “I feel so privileged to have spent time with him around the globe.”

Agus added, “President Peres had a passion and love of science and health.  We talked for many hours every time we would meet about new findings and discoveries in my field.  He was a voracious reader, and always came armed with new ideas to debate.  I have learned so much from him, and his wisdom guides me on a regular basis and will continue to do so.”

Agus. Photo by Paul Takizawa

Jay Sanderson, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said Peres developed an interest in health and medicine late in the statesman's life.

“At the end he was committed to a lot of things. He loved talking about science, technological advances Israel was making in medicine. Not the last time I saw him but before that he was all consumed with brain research being done in Israel. He was very smart and knowledgeable about a lot of things,” Sanderson said. “I think that when people met him here in the Arab world and anywhere else they saw him differently than they had seen other Israeli leaders, saw him as somebody who was moderate and was Zionistic and as supportive of the state of Israel as anyone but understood Israel needed to find a way to make peace with her neighbors.”

Peres, who served as Israel's ninth president and was a 1994 Nobel Prize recipient for his work with the Oslo Accords of 1993, died Tuesday (Wednesday Israel time) at age 93. His funeral takes place Friday morning at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem.

He suffered a stroke approximately two weeks pror to his death. Those expected to attend his funeral include U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, according to the New York Times and JTA, respectively.

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 10:15 A.M.

Pollster and communication strategist Frank Luntz, during a conference call on Wednesday morning organized by the Jewish National Fund, recollected on the time he spent with Shimon Peres working with the late Israeli leader on his presentations.

“You cant imagine what a great loss this is to the state of israel and how fortunate we all have been that he lived so long,” Luntz said.

Luntz, who appeared in Los Angeles this past April during the 2016 Milken Global Institute Conference, ended the 38 minute call with members of the Jewish media by reflecting on how Israel is not a partisan issue. 

There is “no Republican or Democrat when it comes to Israel, no Labor or Likud when it comes to Israel, no Reform or Orthodox when it comes to israel,” he said. “There is just Israel and the Jewish people.”

Luntz. Photo by Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 12:53 A.M.

The Israeli-American Council released the following statement in reaction to Peres' death. 

“On this day of mourning, we salute Peres’ courage to cross physical and metaphorical borders in his unwavering conviction that prosperity, peace, and security for the State of Israel was possible. His extraordinary contributions to the Jewish state will live on in the people of Israel for generations to come.”

UPDATED TUESDAY 8:55 P.M.

Jay Sanderson, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, spoke to the Journal shortly after the news broke about Shimon Peres' death on Wednesday (Israel time). Sanderson said he knew Peres for 25 years and that Peres had a unique relationship with Los Angeles, one that began when David Ben-Gurion sent Peres around 1948 to Los Angeles to shop for airplanes in Burbank, California for the then-fledging Israeli air force.

“He really did have a connection both historically and personally with the city,” Sanderson said in a phone interview, adding, “He really loved Los Angeles. He was very enamored with Hollywood and Hollywood stars and so he liked coming here.”

Sanderson recalled walking around Beverly Hills with Peres, visiting stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, during one of the former Israeli president's trips here. He also said that Peres could be “short tempered,” if rubbed the wrong way: “Not the last time he was here but before the last time, after three days being with him on and off, not assuming he would remember my name I started introducing myself and he got angry with me. He said, ‘Jay don’t think I don’t remember you,’ ” Sanderson said. “He could be tough and strong.”

Sanderson and Peres, in 2015, in Beverly Hills. Courtesy of Sanderson

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“Having heard President Peres speak in my life probably 25 times, the amount of wisdom that he has, the way that he, the way he can take a question, tell a story, and have an anecdote making it meaningful, I don’t know of anyone who can do that…[He is] someone in a way who can be prophetic and practical at the same time, who can look forward while recognizing the past. He is a unique person.”

-Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles CEO and President Jay Sanderson, Feb. 13, 2015, following an L.A. Federation event featuring Peres in person in Beverly Hills.

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