19 Quotes & Sayings By Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres was born in Tel Aviv on August 19, 1923. He received his BA degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his MA degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has served as prime minister, president, and foreign minister. He is the ninth President of Israel Read more

He is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1994), the Congressional Gold Medal (1995), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2001), and honorary doctorates from many universities including Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.

The most important thing in life is to dare. The...
1
The most important thing in life is to dare. The most complicated thing in life is to be afraid. The smartest thing in the world is to try to be a moral person. Shimon Peres
2
We should use our imagination more than our memory. Shimon Peres
3
If you have more dreams than achievements-you're young. Shimon Peres
4
The older generation had greater respect for land than science. But we live in an age when science, more than soil, has become the provider of growth and abundance. Living just on the land creates loneliness in an age of globality. Shimon Peres
5
Count the dreams of your mind; if the numbers of the dreams exceeds the number of achievements, you are young. Shimon Peres
6
My greatest mistake is that my dreams were too small. Shimon Peres
7
From my earliest youth, I have known that while one is obliged to plan with care the stages of one's journey, one is entitled to dream, and keep dreaming, of its destination. A man may feel as old as his years yet as young as his dreams. Shimon Peres
8
I think I was a good student, because I jumped over a school. My main interest was basically history and literature. Sports were basically basketball and swimming at a pool. I was so happy. Shimon Peres
9
In Israel, a land lacking in natural resources, we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation, we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology. Shimon Peres
10
He was the editor of our paper. He created the publishing house in Hebrew. He was - I wouldn't say the 'guru' - but really he was our teacher and a most respected man. I wrote for the paper of the youth movement. Shimon Peres
11
Early in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital. Shimon Peres
12
The Middle East is ailing. The malady stems from pervasive violence, shortages of food, water and educational opportunities, discrimination against women and - the most virulent cause of all - the absence of freedom. Shimon Peres
13
The Jews' greatest contribution to history is dissatisfaction! We're a nation born to be discontented. Whatever exists we believe can be changed for the better. Shimon Peres
14
I worked with a group of people who argued day and night - professors, officials, the Minister of Finance - but there were decisions that I had to make. Shimon Peres
15
Now, I learned soon enough, that among the three, two don't trust the third one - the third one is the government. Both industry and unions feel the government is a talking organization and a spending organization. Shimon Peres
16
Look, I worked with American Republican presidents and Democratic presidents, all of them, and each of them has shown a deep and profound friendship to Israel, you know? I can't remember anybody who was in that sense negative as far as Israel is concerned. Shimon Peres
17
I believe that peace with the Palestinians is most urgent - urgent than ever before. It is necessary. It is crucial. It is possible. A delay may worsen its chances. Israel and the Palestinians are, in my judgment, ripe today to restart the peace process. Shimon Peres
18
My heart goes out to the brave citizens of Syria, who each day risk and even sacrifice their lives to achieve freedom from a murderous regime. We in Israel welcome the historic struggle to forge democratic, peace-loving governments in our region. Shimon Peres