VIDEOS: Shimon Peres, remembered for tireless peace efforts, laid to rest

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, second left, sits next to Dr. Tsvia Walden, known as "Tsiki," the daughter of former Israeli President Shimon Peres during his funeral at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. Peres was laid to rest on Friday in a ceremony attended by thousands of admirers and dozens of international dignitaries — in a final tribute to a man who personified the history of Israel during a remarkable seven-decade political career and who came to be seen by many as a visionary and symbol of hopes of Mideast peace. (Stephen Crowley/Pool Photo via AP)
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, second left, sits next to Dr. Tsvia Walden, known as "Tsiki," the daughter of former Israeli President Shimon Peres during his funeral at Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. Peres was laid to rest on Friday in a ceremony attended by thousands of admirers and dozens of international dignitaries — in a final tribute to a man who personified the history of Israel during a remarkable seven-decade political career and who came to be seen by many as a visionary and symbol of hopes of Mideast peace. (Stephen Crowley/Pool Photo via AP)

JERUSALEM — Shimon Peres was laid to rest Friday by dozens of world leaders who praised Israel's former president and prime minister for pursuing peace with an indefatigable spirit and optimism, even though his vision of a "new Middle East" was never fulfilled.

At a high-powered funeral befitting the globe-trotting Peres, speakers including President Barack Obama recalled a seven-decade political career that personified the history of Israel by building its military while also pushing it toward peace.

"He knew better than the cynic that if you look out over the arc of history, human beings should be filled not with fear but with hope," Obama told the mourners, made up of delegations from 70 countries.

"We gather here today with the knowledge that Shimon never saw his dream of peace fulfilled," he added. "The region is going through a chaotic time. Threats are forever present. And yet, he did not stop dreaming, and he did not stop working."

Peres, who shared a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 with former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, died Wednesday at age 93.

Among the mourners were French President Francois Hollande, Britain's Prince Charles, German President Joachim Gauck and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Despite the stalemate in peace talks, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sat in the front row alongside other world leaders. Representatives from Egypt and Jordan also were present.

Obama described the unlikely friendship he forged with Peres, given their vastly different backgrounds, and he likened him to South Africa's Nelson Mandela.

"It was so surprising to see the two of us, where we had started, talking together in the White House, meeting here in Israel," Obama said. "I think both of us understood that we were here only because in some way we reflected the magnificent story of our nations."

He ended his comments by saying in Hebrew, "Toda rabah haver yakar," — "Thank you so much, dear friend."

The gesture evoked one made by former President Bill Clinton 21 years ago, when he eulogized Rabin, who was killed by a Jewish nationalist. Clinton said, "Shalom haver," or "Goodbye, my friend."

Clinton was president when Peres negotiated a historic interim peace accord with the Palestinians in 1993. In his remarks Friday, he said Peres "started life as Israel's brightest student, became its best teacher and ended up its biggest dreamer."

Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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