Israel’s Peres Hails Obama as a ‘Great President’
Israeli President Shimon Peres said that US President Barack Obama is “a great president and a great friend of Israel,” on Thursday. Peres said that the security cooperation between the US and Israel is “the best we’ve ever had” and that he has “the highest respect” for Obama for overseeing this relationship.
In an hour-long interview with American broadcaster Charlie Rose, conducted before a large audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y, Peres said that he does not want to interfere in American politics, but he is stating his opinion on Obama “because it’s true.”
Peres said that the meeting next week between Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu is “important” and that he is confident that the two leaders “will reach an agreement” on Iran.
Peres declined to deny the Haaretz report that he himself will tell Obama in their meeting Sunday, he is opposed to an attack on Iran, but did say that he supports the formula that “all options are on the table.” Otherwise, he said, Iran will not take the world’s efforts to curtail its nuclear program seriously.
Peres said that Iran is “morally corrupt” and “the center of terror in our time.” He said that to describe the Iranian leadership as “rational” is “very generous.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
