Shimon Peres lyrics offered to world musicians

Israeli Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres has turned up in an unusual place: songweavers.com. The distinguished president of Israel wrote a few lines of lyrics called “Ray of Hope” last year, and invited musicians from around the world to add music. So far, some 57 songs have been created. My personal favourite is a simple rendition done by The Fallen. Check it out on SongWeavers. Other composers include Sadri Ghandehari from Tehran, Iran.

I can’t think of many presidents that have written lyrics. And it is poignant that Peres has continued his constant search for peace through lyrics in addition to his considerable presence as a political figure. Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 alongside Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin for their role in the Oslo accords between Palestine and Israel (which subsequently fell apart unfortunately). He also heads the Peres Center for Peace which works towards reconciliation through economic cooperation.