Shimon Peres was a leader. 
Shimon Peres was a leader in Israel. 


Shimon Peres was a famous leader in Israel. 
Peres had a very long career. He served in the government for 70 years. He was the prime minister twice. He was also the president from 2007 to 2014. 
Later, he worked for peace. He helped make a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. He also worked on peace talks with Palestinian leaders. 

Shimon Peres was a very important leader in Israel. 

Peres had a very busy career with many jobs. He was a member of the Knesset, which is the group of people who make laws. He served in the Knesset for 48 years. He belonged to five different political parties during his time in office. 
His life began in a place called Wiszniew, Poland, in 1923. His family spoke Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian at home. In 1932, his father moved to Tel Aviv. The rest of the family joined him in 1934. As a young man, he led a group of teenagers on a trip into the Negev. They found a nest of large birds called peres in Hebrew. He decided to take that name for himself.
Peres did many things to help his country stay safe. He worked with leaders in France to buy weapons for Israel. 
Later in his life, Peres became a champion for peace. 

Shimon Peres was a central figure in the history of the State of Israel. 

Peres's political influence was felt through his work in the Knesset. The Knesset is the national legislature, or law-making body, of Israel. He served as a member of the Knesset for 48 years. This makes him the longest-serving member in the history of the Knesset. 
His life began in Wiszniew, Poland, in 1923. 
Peres entered high-level government roles at a very young age. In 1952, he became the deputy director general of defense at age 28. By 1953, he was promoted to director general. 
His diplomatic work extended to the United States and other world powers. In 1963, he held negotiations with U.S. President John F. Kennedy. These talks resulted in the sale of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel. This was the first time the United States sold military equipment to the country. 
In his later years, Peres shifted his focus toward peace and diplomacy. He served as foreign minister under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. During this time, he helped engineer the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty. 

Peres's life connected many different eras of Israeli history. He was one of the last Prime Ministers to make aliyah. Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the land of Israel. He was not born on the territory that became the state. 
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