On the anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, the lead singer for the Irish superstars praises Peres for his longtime efforts in trying to bring peace to the region.
By DAVID BRINNUpdated: JULY 9, 2015 02:37Former President Shimon Peres meets Bono(photo credit: SHIMON PERES SPOKESMAN)
U2’s Bono hailed former president Shimon Peres at a show the band performed in Toronto on Tuesday night, which Peres attended.On the anniversary of Operation Protective Edge, the lead singer for the Irish superstars praised Peres for his longtime efforts to bring peace to the region.“We understand, president Peres, that you have tried to be the voice of reason. And you’ve dedicated a lot of your life... to try and bring peace in this really dangerous region,” said the U2 front man.He had called the 91-yearold Nobel prize winner to the front of the audience ahead of the band’s landmark tune of reconciliation, “One.”“I have an easy job, I’m just a band, but here’s a person whose work is much tougher than mine,” added Bono, to the wild cheers of the crowd.He urged Peres to keep working on the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, saying, “We wish that you who worked so hard in Oslo – for that incredible Oslo Accord – that you don’t give up the two-state solution.”Peres, who was in Toronto to attend an economic conference, had received a phone call at his hotel with an invitation to attend the U2 concert as a personal guest of the band, which performed once in Israel in 1997. U2 played for 20,000 fans at the Air Canada Center as part of its “Innocence and Experience” world tour.The two men met between sets, and Bono told Peres, “We sing about peace – but you actualize it.”Peres thanked Bono for the performance and said, “I had a special evening. You are the voice of hope and peace, and I congratulate you. I saw how you inspired the crowd, and I am glad your message goes out to the world.”