Fmr. Israeli President Shimon Peres Laid To Rest
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Former Israeli President Shimon Peres has been laid to rest. World leaders, including President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, attended Friday morning's funeral in Jerusalem.
They came to Jerusalem from all over the world - presidents and prime ministers - to pay their final respects to a man who tried to bring peace to his people, and to the Middle East.
"The last of the founding generation is now gone. Shimon accomplished enough things in his life for a thousand men," said President Obama.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was also there, shaking hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
As Israel's foreign minister, Shimon Peres opened secret negotiations with the Palestinians - which led, eventually, to the Oslo Accords, signed in 1993 on the White House lawn. It's the first agreement between Israel and the Palestinians aimed at ending their conflict. It won Peres the Nobel Peace Prize, though it didn't deliver lasting peace in the Middle East.
Bill Clinton called him "our complicated, brilliant friend."
"Shimon was being interviewed by Charlie Rose and he looked at him and said, I'm going to serve a softball at you - what do you want your legacy to be? And he said: I'm more concerned about tomorrow than yesterday," said Clinton.
Shimon Peres was buried Friday atop Mount Herzl alongside other Israeli leaders.
