Obama turns to offer Clinton a ride on Air Force One
Moments before flying back to Washington, US President Barack Obama offered the former president a ride back to the US, saying, ‘Let’s go, Bill, I’ll take you home.’
Moments before flying back to Washington, US President Barack Obama offered the former president a ride back to the US, saying, ‘Let’s go, Bill, I’ll take you home.’
Following former president Shimon Peres’ funeral on Friday, US President Barack Obama flew back to Washington, DC. Before embarking, though, he offered former US president Bill Clinton to join him. Clinton, who was due to return home on Israeli-American businessman Haim Saban’s private plane, accepted Obama’s offer.
Obama had landed at Ben Gurion International Airport on Friday, going directly to Peres’ funeral, where he met former president Clinton. Later, as each was about to leave Israel, Obama was seen standing at the door of Air Force One, beckoning Clinton with a smile to join him. “Let’s go, Bill,” said Obama. “I’ll take you home.”
Offering the final eulogy at Friday’s ceremony, Obama began his speech by saying, “I could not be more honored to be in Jerusalem to say farewell to my friend Shimon Peres, who showed us that justice and hope are at the heart of the Zionist idea.” Recalling Peres’ life-long strive for peace, Obama said, “Shimon’s contribution to this nation is so fundamental, so pervasive, that perhaps sometimes they can be overlooked. For a younger generation, Shimon was probably remembered more for a peace process that never reached its endpoint. They would listen to critics on the left who might argue that Shimon did not fully acknowledge the failings of his nation, or perhaps more numerous critics on the right who argued that he refused to see the true wickedness of the world, and called him naïve.”
“I don’t believe he was naïve,” continued Obama. “But he understood from hard-earned experience that true security comes through making peace with your neighbors.
Obama recalled the conversations he had with Peres over Israel’s history in battle.“‘We won them all,’ he said of Israel’s wars. ‘But we did not win the greatest victory that we aspired to: release from the need to win victories.’”
Former president Clinton also gave a eulogy at Peres’ funeral, during which he expressed his gratitude for being asked to speak in memory of his friend. “For 70 of his 93 years, in one way or the other, he was a public servant. I was honored to share almost 25 of those years with him. First in our common efforts with prime minister Rabin of blessed memory, to form a just and lasting peace Israel and Palestinians. Then just as his friend. Someone who listened to, learned from and laughed with, and always was in awe of his endless capacity to move beyond even the most crushing setbacks in order to seize new possibilities of each new day.”
“I am honored the family asked me to tell you what he meant to a person who is not a citizen of this country of which I love so much,” Clinton added.
