The meeting between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama was not just a good meeting but an opening for the renewal of peace talks, President Shimon Peres told a group of 37 young Jewish leaders from 24 countries who are, innovators and agents for change.
In welcoming them to Beit Hanassi on Wednesday for a Q&A session, Peres said that he appreciated the way in which Netanyahu had put Israel's case and the way in which Obama related to Israel's position.
Peres later told journalists that the friendly atmosphere of the meeting and its outcome also conveyed a significant political message about Israel-US relations. He was convinced, he said, that the peace process would resume as a result of the meeting and that all partners would work very hard to translate the talks into a dynamic policy.
When talking with the young leaders Peres fielded questions about Obama, Iran, Israel's image in the world media, and relations with Turkey, France and India.
When David Fine, who has worked with former Congressman Robert Wexler, asked Peres to share his impression of Obama, Peres described Obama as "an unbelievable success story compared to other presidents" and declared that he had no doubt that Obama's commitment to Israel was "serious, honest and dependable."
He implied that it was still too early to judge Obama, and noted that Obama had inherited the economic crisis and America's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Peres made the point: "The only way to judge a person is by what he does – not by what he says or what he writes."
He acknowledged that Obama would like to make certain changes in the peace process, and to make things happen faster – "but not by imposition."
In answer to a question about the Iranian threat and Israel's security, Peres replied that "Iran is not a problem for Israel. It's a world problem" Iran rose with terror and terrorists and if a bomb falls in the hands of terrorists in Chechnya or Iraq or anywhere else in the world, it poses a danger to everyone, Peres warned.
The UN Security Council's sanction against Iran was weak he said, due to the desire for a wider coalition. The US Senate, he added, had made the sanction a more serious decision.
Asked what Israel is doing to combat its negative image in the international media, Peres outlined the main difficulty which is unbalanced coverage. "Television does not show what the terrorists are doing," he said. "It only shows the Israeli reaction. You don't see the shooting of missiles or where they fall. We are a lawful country that has to confront a lawless country," he said.
The whole story of Gaza could have been avoided, said Peres. "If they hadn't shot at us, we would not have retaliated. Tell Gaza to stop shooting and to stop threatening. We have no ambitions there."
Alluding to accusations of human rights violations against Israel with regard to Gaza, Peres said: "Human rights begins with the first right, which is to stay alive."
To a question on relations with Turkey, Peres gave the succinct reply: "We didn't change our relations with Turkey, so if there is a change, they have to explain."
Peres almost invariably introduces scientific progress into his conversations, and did so again on this occasion, declaring that there was no longer any valid reason for wars.
In the pre-technological era, he explained, wars were mainly fought over land, because nations required more land in which to grow their produce. But today, with the use of scientific and technological know-how, less land can yield more and better crops.
Today's battles are more in the nature of scientific challenges, and "armies cannot conquer wisdom."
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