Shimon Peres

Have you ever asked yourself who should be considered a hero?In my opinion, there isn't one answer but there are certain criteria. A hero is someone who embraces only important positive values such as kindness, peace, sympathy, adherence, forgiveness and encourages us to live by them. Heroes are the ones who give of themselves to make the world a better place, whose intentions are pure; their goals aren't fortune and fame. They put effort to make a change in the long run, they have a vision, a belief, and a long-term relationship with good. I believe that Shimon Peres answers all of these criteria. Shimon Peres was one of Israel's longest serving and most distinguished politicians. He had the special distinction of having served both as the 9th Prime Minister and President of Israel.

Shimon Peres was born in August 2, 1923 in Poland. When he was eleven years old he moved to Mandatory Palestine, today's Israel, with his family. He grew up in in Tel Aviv and attended the agricultural high school at Ben Shemen. He married his wife Sonia in 1945. There isn't much known about his family's life since he and his wife chose to keep their privacy. He started his political career in 1947, functioning in many diplomatic positions. At the age of 18, he was a soldier in the "Hagenah" Defense Forces . The first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion, gave him the job of buying weapons that were needed to protect the young country. Peres proved to be a convincing politician and gained the respect and trust of many heads of state around the world. Thanks to Peres, Israel was supplied with many weapons which helped them win wars. In addition, he held various positions such as Minister of Immigrant Absorption, head of Israel's Navy and at the young age of 28 he held the post of Director General of the Defense Ministry. During that period, he established Israel's electronic aircraft industries, as well as its nuclear program. Although he was a brilliant politician, he had other talents which made him a true statesman; he spoke over 6 languages, he painted, wrote poetry and was very knowledgeable about the Bible.

In October 1994, Peres, as Israeli Foreign Minister, was one of the politicians who brought the Israeli and Jordanians towards peace talks. As a result of the the Israel-Jordan peace treaty Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. A couple of years later, he founded The Peres Center for Peace. The Center's aim is to help build an infrastructure for peace by and for the people of the Middle East. The goals of this project are to create a personal and national bond between Israeli and Arab partners by different cooperative activities. In 2007, the Israeli parliament called the Knesset elected Shimon Peres to serve as the Ninth President of Israel, marking the first time in the nation's history that a former Prime Minister was also elected as President. Shimon Peres was known for his activism around the world, and was highly respected by many world leaders such as the Pope, who gave him a medal for peace and honor, Queen Elizabeth who gave Peres an honorary title of knighthood and the President of the United States Barack Obama, who awarded him with the "Presidential Medal of Freedom", the United States' highest civilian honor. Less than a year ago in September 2016, Peres had a massive stroke and passed away two weeks later on September 27, 2016 at 93 years old. Over 80 foreign leaders attended his funeral.

I wholeheartedly believe that Shimon Peres was, without a doubt, a hero. Peres unlike most people not only refused to give up on peace in the Middle East, but he devoted his entire life to showing people that it is a real possibility. He took part in different projects destined to create peace between Israel and its surrounding countries and no matter how much hope everyone seemed to lack he persistently fought for peace, within Israel and outside of it. His contribution as an advocate for peace was so tremendous that he received a Nobel Prize. He used whichever stage he was given for greater things, such as passing along his values and beliefs, values of love, respect, kindness and patience.

To conclude, I feel that Shimon Peres was an amazing human being since he contributed greatly to humanity. He is my personal hero because I admire the way he devoted his whole life and his determination to make the world a peaceful place to live in, even when he was 90 years old. His eyes always glowed with enthusiasm when he talked about success of progress for peace. He never stopped trying and was continually active to accomplish his dreams. He is truly a person that I will always look to and adore, he is a great inspiration for me, and I will definitely tell my kids about him.