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Photo: Yotam Frum

Peres celebrates 85th birthday in Negev

'I wish the team around him the strength to keep working at our boss' pace,' says Peres staffer as energetic octogenarian president marks birthday in desert region as part of campaign to promote growth there

Israeli President Shimon Peres is spending his 85th birthday Thursday in southern Israel's Negev desert as part of his crusade to promote growth in the sparsely-populated arid region.

 

A statement from Peres' office said he would mark the day with a visit to the Negev town of Dimona, home to Israel's main nuclear reactor but blighted by high blue-collar unemployment.

 

Dozens of school children welcomed Peres as he arrived at reception held in his honor by the Dimona Municipality, with a chorus of Happy Birthday, and presented him with a birthday cake. Peres then proceeded to blow the candles atop of it with one breath.

 

Dimona Mayor Meir Cohen welcomed Peres to the city saying that "this is a joyous occasion for us all. There not enough words to describe how much you have done for us as a city and for Israel as a state… you are an inspiration to us all."


Never out of breath (Photo: AP)

 

Among the events scheduled in a program lasting around 10 hours in searing summer heat, the energetic octogenarian will be serenaded by a blind people's choir and a woodwind orchestra and greeted by children from local summer camps and the town rabbi. He will also give radio and TV interviews to local media students and visit leaders of a Beduin tribe in a tent set up in the town center.

 

The birthday boy, in a gleeful mood, responded by saying: "I think we have a little misunderstanding here. You may have come here to celebrate by birthday, but I'm here to celebrate Dimona.

 

"Eighty-five? What about it? If you're patient enough you'll all get there too. I can't think of any city in the world that has been able to turn form a desert town to such a beautiful city."

 

Nevertheless, politics was left out of the celebrations completely: When asked about the reports suggesting Syria is deploying Russian-made missile batteries near the border, he said that "the matter of the missiles is of great importance.

 

"Weapons of mass destruction, even without any real way to launch them, pose a threat. Having both WMDs and the means to use them is terrible… if things get out of control it could endanger the entire world. Not just the Middle East. I hope the international community will understand the risk and act accordingly."

 

Aides say that despite his years Peres is a powerhouse, rising before dawn every day and working into the night. ''I wish the team around him the strength to keep working at our boss' pace,'' an unidentified staffer told Army Radio.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.21.08, 09:03
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