My grandfather Meltzer and his descendants in Vishneva, Poland, 1923. I’m standing third from the right in the back row. GPO
Me (on the right); my brother, Gershon (Gigi); and our parents, Sarah and Yitzhak Persky, in Vishneva, 1928. Shimon Peres Archives
The Tarbut School in Vishneva, 1931. I’m sitting on the left in the front row. Shimon Peres Archives
Fourteen years old, a teenager in the land of our forefathers, with the birth of the State of Israel still more than a decade away. Shimon Peres Archives
Newly wed with Sonia in Tel Aviv, May 1945. Shimon Peres Archives
Our plan for the Sinai operation in 1956, drawn by Moshe Dayan and signed by David Ben-Gurion. Courtesy of the I.D.F and Defense Establishment Archives
Sonia, Tsvia, Yonatan (Yoni), and I admire baby Nechemia (Chemi), 1958. Avraham Vered, in Bamahane magazine, courtesy of the I.D.F and Defense Establishment Archives
With Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in Dimona in the late 1950s. Shimon Peres Archives
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and I welcome the hostages after Operation Entebbe. Uri Herzl Tzahik, courtesy of the I.D.F and Defense Establishment Archives
Speaking with the hostages after Operation Entebbe. Uri Herzl Tzahik, courtesy of the I.D.F and Defense Establishment Archives
Meeting with Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in the city of Beersheba, 1979. Sa'ar Ya'acov/GPO
With the chairman of the Histadrut, Yisrael Kessar, as he signs the 1985 Economic Stabilization Plan, alongside the minister of finance, Yitzhak Modai, and the minister of the economy, Gad Yaacobi. Nati Harnik/GPO
Signing the Oslo Accords in Washington, D.C., September 1993. Avi Ohayon/GPO
One of my proudest achievements as prime minister during the mid-1980s was Operation Moses, a secret effort to bring Ethiopian Jews to safety in Israel. Of the approximately 8,000 we rescued, 1,500 were children. Nati Harnik/GPO
With Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, as we receive the Nobel Peace Prize in October 1994. Sa’ar Ya’acov/GPO
Greeting Pope Francis on the airport tarmac during his visit to Israel. Avi Ohayon/GPO
With German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
Launching my Facebook page alongside the company’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, at Facebook’s headquarters in California, 2012. Moshe Milner/GPO
Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, June 2012. Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
At our national ceremony for outstanding soldiers at the President’s Residence on Independence Day, 2013. Amos Ben Gershom/GPO