Israel President and former Prime Minister, Shimon Peres - an internationally renowned icon of wisdom, fortitude and idealism, championed the 60th anniversary of Israel's existence. Among the many decorated guests; analysts; nobel laureates and world leaders were a capacity crowd of future leaders; inventors; investors and political strategists. The star of the show however, besides for Peres, was outgoing American President and staunch Israel ally - President George W. Bush.President George W. Bush made an historic entrance to the ICC in Jerusalem to mark Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. The American President - the leader of the free world - was honored with a thunderous standing ovation that overshadowed that of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. President Bush pledged unwavering American support for Israel in the face of the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear weapons program. Indeed Bush's comments that Israel is not merely a nation of 7 million free people fighting terror, but a nation of 307 million free people fighting terror rang out in the Knesset when Bush spoke on Thursday afternoon.
In addition to the most powerful leader of the free world, his envoys and emmissaries littered the conference. Special mention must be made of Dennis Ross, the MidEast peace envoy, who chaired the proceedings. Ross pointed to the technological advancements in Israel that are completely out of proportion, both to the country's size and lack of mineral and natural resources. Panelists pointed to the abundance of Human Capital available in Israel. As industry giant Warren Buffet stated "Always bet on Brains" when refering to Israel's intellectual genius.
Other significant personalities at the conference included: Google Co-Founder(Sergy Brin); Media and Internet Mogul (Rupert Murdoch); Yahoo President (Susan Decker) and Former Warner Bros. President and Yahoo President - Terry Semel, among countless others. Celebrities and Presidents from Jon Voight to the President of Albania were among the star-studded event. Henry Kissinger lent wisdom while delegates spoke of Israel's past and future challenges within the ambit of a successful and solid 60 years of existence.
