Vice President Joe Biden mourned the passing of former Israeli President Shimon Peres, remembering him as an “amazing leader,” “a force of nature” and “one of the few men in the world whose experience was surpassed only by his genuine wisdom and eloquence.”
“When he talked, everyone listened,” Biden said in a lengthy statement released Tuesday morning. “And later, long after he’d left the room, you remembered what he said. It crept into your soul and stayed with you.”
Biden remembered Peres as an “amazing leader, and a powerful voice for peace and progress in our world.”
“His loss will be felt not only in Israel but all over the world – in every heart he touched, including mine.”
Biden said it was a great privilege to benefit from Peres’ friendship and counsel over the course of 40 years.
“And each time I met with him, I was struck anew by his incredible compassion, his boundless energy, and his ceaseless curiosity,” Biden recalled. “Even at 93, Shimon was still looking for the next big idea — the next dream to bring to life.”
“He was part of that exceptional generation of founders — the men and women who recognized the necessity for a Jewish State of Israel and then willed it into existence, despite overwhelming odds,” Biden continued, referring to Peres as the “soul of Israel.”
“Jill and I send our deepest condolences to all the people of Israel,” he said. “And our prayers go out to his children, Zvia, Yoni, and Chemi, and their families. May his memory continue to be a blessing to us all.”
