UK’s Prince Charles Makes Private Donation To Peres Center For Peace And Innovation

The UK’s Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, has placed a private donation to Israel’s Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. The amount was not disclosed in the joint announcement by the British Embassy in Israel and the Peres Center.

Chemi Peres, son of former president Shimon Peres after whom the center is named, and chairman of the Peres Center for Peace, thanked Prince Charles in a video message.

“I wish to extend my deepest and most sincere gratitude to His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, for his most generous contribution to The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation’s important programming. It is an honor and a privilege for the Peres Center to be recognized by His Royal Highness, for our efforts to promote peace and prosperity in Israel and in the region,” he said.

Peres added that the support of His Royal Highness for the Peres Center’s vision “is a testament to our shared values. I take great pride in the long-standing relationship between The Royal Family, the Peres family, and the Peres Center,” he added.

The Peres Center was founded in 1996 by the late Israeli President Shimon Peres, who passed away in 2016. Prince Charles was among the many dignitaries and heads of state who attended the funeral and had expressed his great admiration of Peres’ work for peace and of his legacy.

Her Majesty The Queen awarded Shimon Peres the Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2008 – a first for an Israeli President.

Today, the center develops meaningful programs with a focus on promoting a prosperous Israel, nurturing and highlighting Israeli innovation, and paving the way for shared-living between all of Israel’s citizens and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors.

Prince Charles last visited Israel in January 2020 on an official visit, at the invitation of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, to attend the World Holocaust Forum, marking the 75^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge has met with the Peres Center’s senior staff and Jewish and Arab Children at the Center’s Sport in the Service of Peace programs, during his first official visit to Israel in 2018.