'Most dramatic state on earth'

TEL AVIV - Israel must be as old as the Ten Commandments and as new as the Internet, Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Ynetnews in an exclusive interview in honor of Israeli Independence Day. "We have to live on our brains, and behave on our conscience," Peres said. See exclusive video of interview with Shimon Peres! Broad issues and principles dominated Peres' discussion with Ynetnews during the Independence Day interview in his spacious Tel Aviv office, which is festooned with memorabilia from his long career as a politician in Israel. Over Peres' head stood the certificate designating him as a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1994. A brace of brass doves bracketed a David Ben-Gurion doll looking much like a Smurf with a shock of white hair. Hannukiot and other Judaica were scattered on shelves. The waiting area outside his office contained both a brass Buddha given to him by officials of India and the framed text of an English-language email sent from space by Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who perished in the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy in 2003. 'Israel will never be unemployed' Peres smiled when asked if Israel would survive current internal and external challenges, including the disengagement from Gaza, the emotions that plan has stirred up, and the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. "Israel will survive because she will never be unemployed," he said. "The Jewish people introduced the moral code in history and paid a heavy toll. The world still needs an intransigent nation that does not conform, and we need to hear it, too." Peres, known for his command of global affairs, described Israel at 57 as an "unprecedented, great historic experiment," and the "most dramatic state on earth." Asking himself a question, he said, "What is the real state of life in Israel? This is the least boring nation, and when you are here, you are always engaged. The reality is so great, and so moving." He said the country is currently divided by the pending disengagement from Gaza, but that people must forget the divisions. "We don't have to get over our differences," he said. "We have to learn to live with them. The world is a world of differences and not of agreements. We have to agree to disagree at every step of our lives." Video footage: Shai Rosenzweig

'Most dramatic state on earth'

Vice Premier Shimon Peres, in exclusive Ynetnews interview, says Israel will overcome difficulties and survive, because 'world still needs an intransigent nation that does not conform'