¹Rachel Maddow corrected this report Wednesday night. President Clinton is attending. Hillary is not.
- JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JULY 16: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli President Shimon Peres (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before their meeting on July 16, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton is in Israel to discuss diplomacy with Iran, Syria and Egypt in addition to peace talks regarding the Middle East. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
- JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JULY 16: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) kisses US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before their meeting on July 16, 2012 in Jerusalem, Israel. Clinton is in Israel to discuss diplomacy with Iran, Syria and Egypt in addition to peace talks regarding the Middle East. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, and Israel's President Shimon Peres, hug after a joint statement at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Monday, July 16, 2012. Clinton met Peres for about an hour as part of what is perhaps her final visit to Israel as secretary of state, bringing a message of solidarity to the Jewish state after three-and-a-half years of only stunted progress toward a Palestinian peace deal. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
- Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smile at each other after their joint statements in Jerusalem July 16, 2012. Clinton and Israeli officials will discuss on Monday Egypt's political upheaval, Iran's nuclear program and the stymied Israeli-Palestinian peace process. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)
- Israel's President Shimon Peres, right, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, meet at the President's residence in Jerusalem, Monday, July 16, 2012. Clinton made perhaps her final visit to Israel as secretary of state on Monday, bringing a message of solidarity to the Jewish state after three-and-a-half years of only stunted progress toward a Palestinian peace deal. (AP Photo/ Brendan Smialowski, Pool)
- Israel's President Shimon Peres (L) stands with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before their meeting in Jerusalem July 16, 2012. Clinton and Israeli officials will discuss on Monday Egypt's political upheaval, Iran's nuclear program and the stymied Israeli-Palestinian peace process. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)
- WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 12: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Israeli President Shimon Peres (R) participate in a discussion at the Hay Adams Hotel June 12, 2012 in Washington, DC. The Clinton-Peres discussion was part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy of Brookings Institution. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) meets Israeli President Shimon Peres at Blair House in Washington April 4, 2011. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)
- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli President Shimon Peres (R) arrive for a meeting April 4, 2011 at Blair House, the presidential guest house, in Washington, DC. Peres will be meeting US leaders for talks aimed at furthering regional peace efforts. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
- US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, is greeted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, as she arrives at the Israeli presidential residence in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010. Clinton is in the region for peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders and will try to defuse a looming crisis over Israeli settlement construction. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Israel's President Shimon Peres leave after their joint statements at the president's residence in Jerusalem September 15, 2010. Israeli and Palestinian leaders are "getting down to business" and tackling the main issues of the Middle East conflict, Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speaks with Israel's President Shimon Peres (L) upon her arrival for their meeting at the president's residence in Jerusalem September 15, 2010. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hold a second day of talks on Wednesday to try to overcome a row over Jewish settlement building that could sink their push for peace. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) speaks with Israel's President Shimon Peres (C) upon her arrival for their meeting at the president's residence in Jerusalem September 15, 2010. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hold a second day of talks on Wednesday to try to overcome a row over Jewish settlement building that could sink their push for peace. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)
- Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after their meeting in Jerusalem March 3, 2009. Clinton pledged on Tuesday to press for Palestinian statehood, putting Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM)
- Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) kisses U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as he gives her flowers after their meeting in Jerusalem March 3, 2009. Clinton pledged on Tuesday to press for Palestinian statehood, putting Washington on a possible collision course with Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM)
- JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MARCH 3: In this handout from the Israeli U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres on March 3, 2009 in Jeruslaem, Israel. Hillary Clinton is at the start of a two day visit to the region where she will also be holding talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Prime Minister Designate Binyamin Netanyahu before meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmood Abbas. (Photo by Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv via Getty Images)
StatementWith the passing of Shimon Peres, Israel has lost a leader who championed its security, prosperity, and limitless possibilities from its birth to his last day on earth. The Middle East has lost a fervent advocate for peace and reconciliation and for a future where all the children of Abraham build a better tomorrow together. And Hillary and I have lost a true and treasured friend.
I’ll never forget how happy he was 23 years ago when he signed the Oslo Accords on the White House lawn, heralding a more hopeful era in Israeli-Palestinian relations. He was a genius with a big heart who used his gifts to imagine a future of reconciliation not conflict, economic and social empowerment not anger and frustration, and a nation, a region, and a world enhanced by caring and sharing, not torn asunder by the illusions of permanent dominance and perfect truth. His critics called him a dreamer. That he was – a lucid, eloquent dreamer until the very end. Thank goodness. Let those of us who loved him and love his nation keep his dream alive.
