Rivlin says Peres ensured Israel ‘an indisputable fact’

Rivlin says Peres ensured that the State of Israel “is an indisputable fact.”

“Like you, I was also born into the Zionist Movement in those decisive years between vision and fulfillment. I was fortunate to look up to you as a partner in the building of the State of Israel from its very foundations. For both of us, the State of Israel could never be taken for granted. However, with much thanks to you Shimon, for our sons and daughters, for our friends – and yes for our opponents – the State of Israel is an indisputable fact,” he says.

“You had the rare ability Shimon to conceive what seemed to be the inconceivable, and see it to fruition. Your eyes saw far ahead, while your feet covered great distances on the landscape of Jewish and Zionist history,” the president says.

Peres “succeeded in moving even the most stubborn of politicians, and to melt away even the hardest of hearts of our opponents,” says Rivlin.

“You strived until your final breaths to reach the pinnacle of the Zionist dream: an independent, sovereign state, existing in peace with our neighbors. Yet you also knew that true peace could only be achieve from a position of strength, and you were sure to secure the path to this goal,” he says.

Rivlin praises Peres for his contributions to Israel’s security.

“Few among us understand, and much more will be written about how many mountains you moved, from the days of the State’s establishment and till today in order to ensure our security and our military qualitative edge. How deep was your belief in the sacred combination of ethical leadership and military prowess, that Israel must act not just with wisdom, but with justice, faithful at every moment to its values as a Jewish and democratic state, democratic and Jewish,” he says.