A British hero saved my father

Shimon peres told MPs and peers in an address to parliament that a speech made to the Knesset by Gordon Brown "invoked a distant memory within me".

He said that, while the Prime Minister's father "cherished the Bible", his father "experienced an attempt to kill the people of the Bible".

"In pre-state Israel, my father volunteered for the Royal British Army. He was captured by the German forces and became a prisoner of war.

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Israelis ask: where is the community support

Senior Israeli diplomats and members of President Shimon Peres's entourage have expressed their disappointment at the absence of pro-Israel demonstrators around the events in the presidential visit.

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No Peres visit to UK war plaque

A ceremony to unveil a plaque commemorating British diplomats who saved Nazi victims has been dropped from the schedule of President Shimon Peres' official visit to Britain next week.

Jewish organisations had objected to the wording of the plaque.

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Britain prepares to do the honours for Peres

All the stops will be out to honour Israeli President Shimon Peres when he visits Britain on November 17 - his first time since becoming president.

In addition to being awarded an honorary title from the Queen, he will receive an honorary doctorate from King's College, London.

Both the British and Israeli foreign ministries have unofficially confirmed that Mr Peres will be awarded a title during his visit, though details are "still in the works".

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Peres: Iran’s a world threat

Israel's president, Shimon Peres, warns today that it must not be left to Israel alone to solve the Iranian issue. "The Iranian threat is not only towards Israel, but the whole world," the president says in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the Jewish Chronicle to mark Rosh Hashanah.

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Peres plans UK visit to discuss the Iran threat

Israeli president Shimon Peres is to visit Britain in November to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat with British leaders.

The visit - which has as yet not been formally announced - will not be an official state visit, though he is expected to meet the Queen.

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Israel is in mourning as Hizbollah claims victory

“A nation in tears” is how President Shimon Peres summarised the nerve-wracking Wednesday in which Israel received the bodies of captured soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser in return for the remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters, four captured Hizbollah men and convicted murderer Samir Kuntar.

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Obama to visit Israel and PA

US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is scheduled to receive a red-carpet reception when he arrives in Israel and the Palestinian Authority next week on a whirlwind visit.

The exact date of Mr Obama’s visit is being kept a secret for security considerations also related to his planned visit to Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Dead Sea canal put on hold

Palestinian and Arab pressure on King Abdullah of Jordan has brought the Dead Sea canal project to a standstill, according to Israeli sources.

The joint Israeli-Jordanian initiative to build a canal from the Red Sea to the rapidly drying Dead Sea with tourism infrastructure on both banks was seen as too much normalisation with Israel.

Environmental groups that had opposed the project claimed it was their opposition that had swayed the leaders’ minds, but the JC has learnt of other forces arrayed against it.

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