peres: -- the founder of the state of israel, david ben-gurion, called me to work with him. 65 years, inspired by his leadership, i tried to gather strength for my country, pursue peace for my people. i learned that public service is a privilege that must be based on moral foundations. i receive this honor today on behalf of the people of israel. they are the true recipients of this honor. with this moving gesture, you are paying, mr. president, tribute to generations upon generations of jews who dreamed of, fought for a state of their own -- a state that would give them a shelter; a state that they could really defend by themselves. so, mr. president, you are honoring the pioneers who built homes on bombed mountains, on shifting land; fighters who sacrificed their life for their country. on their behalf, i thank you. i thank america for days of concern, for sleepless nights, caring for our safety, caring for our future. tonight, mr. president, you kindly invited outstanding personalities whose commitment to israel is nothing less than heroic. i offer them the eternal gratit

gurion wanted me to do. we do not have a fourth. he wanted me to fight.rlie: that was your legacy, building of the force? shimon: that was indeed the legacy. i don't work for history, i work for people. and you have to do, at a given time, the right thing, the most demanding one. received criticism. now, they praise everything i do. so what? you know, when i'm asked what is the greatest contribution to the jewish people in the world, they say the satisfaction. a good jew cannot be satisfied. you know, to be satisfied yourself, you change, you engage. and that is a great thing. and idon't see an end, don't think history is a judgment. i think we have to judge history, not history have to judge of us. because history is sort of blindness. and we are blind more today. we want to open our eyes better, to see longer, to see bigger, to see a long-distance. moses was probably the greatest man in history. telescope.not have a at a time the expectancy of life was half. all the kings of europe, when they had a defect, king david did not have antibiotics. and have a

ben gurion, as you said. can you identify with the same aspirations of young palestinians? mr.: yes. i think they have to get from a different past. we started from a different point, they started from a different point. but i will tell you something, maybe i am exaggerating, but i feel the palestinians, young palestinians today, too, and i can speak with them, and they know my position. i did not become a palestinian. and the young israelis, you know, i was six years as -- six years in politics, three and a half years as president. i was the most controversial politician. charlie: why was that? mr. peres: and now i am the most popular one. [laughter] why was i controversial? a sickly because i moved a basically because i moved a little bit too fast, too much. and i think fighting is better than satisfaction. charlie: it used to be said, even though that you were a defense minister, that shimon was not a general, not a man of the military, even though he and -- had been defense minister. you might be soft on defense and security? mr. peres: you can be a builder of force or a us

with ben gurion's backing, peres won a seat in the israeli parliament in 1959, launching a politicaleer that extended for over five decades. as defense minister under prime minister yitzhak rabin, he oversaw the dramatic 1976 rescue of israeli hostages at entebbe airport in uganda. peres himself went on to serve as prime minister-- first in 1977, and again as part of a unity government in 1984. he took a conciliatory stance toward the palestinians, and later, with rabin back in power, he conducted the oslo negotiations in secret. the resulting deal, signed in 1993 in washington, aimed at establishing mutual recognition between israel and the palestinians and setting them on a path toward peace. >> ...from this green promising lawn of the white house, let's say together in the language of our bible, "peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near." >> brangham: just two years later, rabin was assassinated by a jewish extremist, and peres again became acting prime minister for a time. but amid renewed confrontation with the palestinians, a harder- line israeli government

he began his career as a young aid to the prime minister david ben-gurion, the first prime minister and defense minister. peres was sent on secret other countries to secure arms for the young state. he succeeded in doing that, and only later in his career did he become the doves and the champion of middle east peacemaking for which he became very famous. he talked with bloomberg back in 2012. he said "many people sales run what i talked about the new middle east and the need for more ties with our arab neighbors. i am not wrong, i -- it is just taking more time than i thought." this is kind of indicative of the man in his twilight years. was there any indication that he was disappointed or still working to press on with peace? >> yes. peres was in his heart an optimist. he was not naive or gullible. what he felt that needed to take place was leadership. he was quite critical in recent years, privately at least come at a pick more will come out publicly in the days ahead, of the current leadership or lack thereof. when you do not have leaders to implement, to make tough decisions, and ta

he began his career at a young minister davidme ben gurion. sent on secret missions to try to procure arms for the new state. israel was vastly outnumbered and outgunned. he's exceeded in doing that. much later in his career he became a dove and champion of middle east is making, for which of course he became very famous. he talked with bloomberg back in 2012. he said, many people say i was wrong when i talked about the new middle east and the need for more ties with our arab neighbors. i'm not wrong, he said to us, it's just taking more time than i thought. this is really kind of indicative of the man in his twilight years. was there any indication that he was disappointed or still working to press on with these? peace?ress on with >> he was not naÏve or gullible. what he thought needed to take place really does need to take place with leadership. he was quite critical in recent years, privately at least, and i think more will come out publicly in the days ahead, of the current leadership or lack thereof. we don't have leaders to implement an

ben-gurion called him to serve at headquarters to make sure the jewish people had the armaments and organization to secure their freedom. after independence surrounded by enemies who denied israel's existence and sought to drive it into the sea, the child who had wanted to be a poet of stars became a man who built israel's efense industry. who laid the foundation for the formidable armed forces that won israel's wars. his skill secured israel's strategic position, his boldness sent israeli commandos to rescue jews from ethiopia. his statesmanship built an unbreakable bond with the united states of america and so many other countries. his contributions didn't end there. shimon also showed what people can do when they harness reason and science to a common cause. he understood that a country without many natural resources could more than make up for it with the talents of its people. he made hard choices to roll back inflation and climb out from a terrible economic crisis. he championed the promise of science and technology to make he desert bloom. and turned this tiny country into a central hub o

ben-gurion called him to serve at headquarters to make sure the jewish people had the armaments and organization to secure their freedom. after independence surrounded by enemies who denied israel's existence and sought to drive it into the sea, the child who had wanted to be a poet of stars became a man who built israel's defense industry. who laid the foundation for the formidable armed forces that won israel's wars. his skill secured israel's boldness position, his sent israeli commandos to rescue jews from ethiopia. his statesmanship built an unbreakable bond with the united states of america and so many other countries. his contributions didn't end there. shimon also showed what people can do when they harness reason and science to a common cause. he understood that a country without many natural resources could more than make up for it with the talents of its people. he made hard choices to roll back inflation and climb out from a terrible economic crisis. he championed the promise of science and technology to make the desert bloom. and turned this tiny country into a central hub of the di