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President Shimon Peres told schoolchildren in the north that "the prime minister will be demonstratively absent from a meeting with one of the most evil and horrible people of modern history, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who lies through his teeth about the existence of the Holocaust and curses Israel". Referring to the Iranian president's speech at the upcoming UN General Assembly, Peres added that Ahmadinejad "is pessimistic and has no future, and I'm sure Prime Minister Netanyahu will repay him." During his visit to the agricultural school 'Kaduri', Peres also spoke about the trilateral summit called by US President Barack Obama, who...

Israeli President Shimon Peres claims that Lebanon's Hezbollah now has an arsenal of 80,000 rockets to bombard Israel -- double the previous estimate by Israeli intelligence and almost four times the number the Iranian-backed militants possessed during their 2006 war with the Jewish state. Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh has dismissed as "lies" the claim made by Peres in an interview with the Kuwait daily Al-Rai published Sunday. "I don't know how he counted these rockets." But the Israeli leader's claim has fuelled regional fears that a new conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is brewing. There has been no independent...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's reported promise to Israeli President Shimon Peres that Moscow will reconsider the sale of powerful S-300 air-defense missiles to Iran could determine whether Israel - and the United States for that matter - launches pre-emptive strikes against Tehran's nuclear facilities. "President Medvedev promised to review this issue once again after I explained that it would have an impact on the balance of forces in our region," Peres said Wednesday following his meeting with the Russian leader in Moscow on Tuesday. Israel has been threatening to attack Iran's controversial nuclear program for many months because the Jewish...

Azerbaijani officials have blamed Iran for interfering in the country`s domestic affairs. Commenting on Iran`s strongly-worded statements opposing Israeli President Shimon Peres` visit to Baku scheduled for late in June, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan does not interfere with other countries` internal affairs and will not allow other states to do so. He added that his country is pursuing a foreign policy in line with its national interests. Earlier, the news on the Israeli leader`s expected visit drew fire from Tehran. Hassan Firouzabadi, Iran`s chief-of-staff of the armed forces, labeled the visit as disrespectful to the Islamic world and...

Barack Obama is to pursue an ambitious peace plan in the Middle East involving the recognition of Israel by the Arab world in exchange for its withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, according to sources close to America’s president-elect. Obama intends to throw his support behind a 2002 Saudi peace initiative endorsed by the Arab League and backed by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party. The proposal gives Israel an effective veto on the return of Arab refugees expelled in 1948 while requiring it to restore the Golan Heights to Syria and allow the Palestinians...

Right Man At The Right Time Never before in Israel has there been such yearning for what Peres represents By Orly Azoulay YNET News Shimon Peres was sworn into the presidential office on Sunday and realized a lifetime aspiration through resolve and perseverance: He gained recognition. Not only recognition for a man who could always see the entire picture and not only the parts that made up the whole, but recognition for everything he has ever done for the State – things that were not always understood in advance and generally preceded his time, presenting him in Israeli eyes as...

Israel Cabinet Congratulates President Shimon Peres By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem ----July 16 ..... The following was communicated by the Israel Cabinet Secretariat and the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the Israel Government was committed to continue seeing to the security of Israel in every sense of the word vis-avis budgetary issues and added that the Government was also committed to championing social issues. He said that the government needs to find the proper balance between these two important goals in accordance with the economic situation. Israel Prime...

New president sworn in Shimon Peres sworn in as Israel's ninth president before hundreds in festive ceremony at Knesset. ‘President must call on religious, secular public to find common ground, and urge Palestinians, Arab countries to take part in the great journey towards world built on logic, not just land’ Peres says Amnon Meranda Shimon Peres was sworn in as Israel's ninth president in a festive ceremony at the Knesset Sunday evening. Hundreds of people arrived at the Knesset including former politicians, foreign ambassadors, and artists, in order to witness the event. In his acceptance speech, Peres said, “I never...

JERUSALEM – Teddy Kollek, the legendary mayor of Jerusalem and one of Israel's most re-elected politicians, ratted out fellow Jews to the British occupiers of pre-State Israel, even once trying to have former prime minister Menachem Begin arrested. The information was provided by recently declassified British intelligence documents held back from the public at the request of the Israeli government as long as Kollek was alive, prompting some here to wander whether other Israeli politicians currently living, such as former prime minister Shimon Peres, who worked closely with Kollek, were also moles against Jews. Kollek died three months ago. The...

The 296-Letter-Long Shimon Peres Code By Moshe Aharon (Morris) Shak Copyright © January 2006 In the November/December 2005 Bible Code Digest issue, the location of Shimon Peres in the Bible code was established. The key term that described the former Prime Minister of Israel best was --will not be elected. The extension of the two-word term in both directions at the same low skip of eight sheds much light on Peres' long political career. In total, the extended will not be elected term is 296 letters long! A. The 296-Letter Code in Hebrew In numerous articles in English and...

LONDON (EJP)--- Hezbollah have a future if they become a political party, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told to a group of journalists at a briefing at the Ritz Hotel in central London on Thursday. However, he added: “But if they try to be both a political party and an army they will encounter the contradiction soon enough, they cannot be both.” The respected statesman was responding to a question about the deployment of Lebanese troops on the Israel-Lebanon border. He said he was satisfied with their deployment in South Lebanon. “Much better than Hizbollah,” he said. Good relations...

Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Wednesday that "to the best of my information," the two IDF soldiers abducted by Hizbullah "are alive and they are healthy." Peres, who was holding talks with US officials, also disclosed that planes from Arab countries had been permitted during the war to fly over Israel on their way to Lebanon to deliver food and medicine. He declined to provide any details, such as which countries had overflights and how many flights were permitted by Israel. "Most of the Arab countries had double-feelings," Peres said. "They didn't want Hizbullah to win." On Lebanese civilian...

I'm trying yet another format change this week.  I have left the background links on the entry for each guest for each show, like last week, but I've broken the Sunday shows out into separate posts to try to make each one more easy to read and discuss.  The Saturday shows will still be posted as one message, then I'll do the ping.  Please me know if this works.And I've put my (expanded) witty commentary here instead of in the ping...The most interesting guest this week should be Secretary Rice, who is on Fox, CBS and ABC, but she probably...

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 7/1 and 7/2/06 (not the live thread)The main message is the Sunday Shows.  Message 1 will be the Saturday Shows and message 2 will be the show guest links post.  Then I'll post the ping list.ABC This Week (George Stephanopoulos) Meme: Bush was wrong on all the issues McCain is right onThe Supreme's smack down the Bushies (who cares if it endangers the country, it's NEWS!!!) Topics: Hamdan, Immigration, and Iraq Guests Senator John McCain, Republican - Arizona He's BAAAAACKMcCain's back and Georgie's got himIt's such a tragedy that President Bush didn't listen to Saint...

Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres has urged the UN to take action against Iran after implicit threats made by its "lunatic" president. President Ahmadinejad has in the past called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and said on Friday it was on the way to being eliminated. Shimon Peres urged the world to unite against Mr Ahmadinejad who he predicted would end up like Saddam Hussein. "The United Nations cannot but react," Mr Peres insisted. "Iran is a member state of the United Nations that is threatening to destroy another member state of the United Nations," he...

Peres says Ahmadinejad to end up like Saddam Sat Apr 15, 2006 10:22 AM ET JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli veteran statesman Shimon Peres, responding to the latest verbal attack on the Jewish state by Iran's president, said on Saturday that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would end up like Iraq's Saddam Hussein. In a speech to a conference on the Palestinian issue on Friday, Ahmadinejad said: "The Zionist regime is a decaying and crumbling tree that will fall with a storm." Peres, in a statement quoted by Israel Radio, called Ahmadinejad's comments a direct threat to Israel's existence. "His statements are reminiscent of...

Apr. 12, 2006 8:19 | Updated Apr. 12, 2006 8:30 Peres: Israel should stay out of Iran conflict By JPOST.COM STAFF Kadima MK Shimon Peres said Wednesday that Israel should stay out of the Iran conflict, saying that if Israel were to take preemptive military measures it would isolate itself in the campaign against the country. Peres told Army Radio that Israel should to be patient and allow the US to manage the situation. "The US has placed the Iran (nuclear) issue at the top of its agenda and, despite the worrying state of affairs, Israel doesn't need to get...

In a major endorsement, elder statesman Shimon Peres on Sunday voiced support for the leadership of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as the successor to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "Ehud Olmert was nominated by Ariel Sharon to become acting prime minister when the need for it arises. I supported it then and I support it now," Peres told an international conference of Jewish parliamentarians meeting in Jerusalem. "If Arik Sharon is not able to return to his responsibilities, Ehud Olmert will continue to head the government and I shall support him again," he added. Peres's remarks came amidst speculation that...

Missed Opportunities... Again The Palestinians ...have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity--Abba Eban, 1978 That quote, about the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has been used by Israeli politicians and their supporters for decades now. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak extended it to the Palestinians as a whole. I have used the Barak version in a previous post myself. Sadly, Abba Eban's words seem more true now than ever and seem to be true of every aspiring Palestinian leader on the scene today. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, now leading his new centrist Kadima (literally "forward") party,...

Nov. 27, 2005 0:18 | Updated Nov. 27, 2005 20:15 Peres to decide party affiliation soon By GIL HOFFMAN AND JPOST STAFFVice Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Photo: Ariel JerozolimskiLabor Chairman Amir Peretz talking to the press Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski Sources in the Labor Party told the Jerusalem Post that they believed Vice Premier Shimon Peres plans to join Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new Kadima party in the coming days. "My impression was that Peres will decide to leave Labor," a senior Labor official who spoke to Peres on Sunday said. "It was clear from what he told me that he's...