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Last update - 15:09 10/04/2008 Blair, Gorbachev, Streisand to attend Israel's 60th celebrations By The Associated Press Tags: Israel travel, Shimon Peres  President Shimon Peres is bringing in top personalities from around the world to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday. United States President George W. Bush, Barbra Streisand, Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev and Rupert Murdoch are among those expected to attend a May conference focusing on Jewish and Israeli contributions to humanity. "We are going to have probably 10 presidents from different countries, six former presidents, ministers, prime ministers, scientists, philosophers, artists," Peres said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press. Advertisement The conference is expected to be one of the highlights of weeks of celebrations marking Israel's 60th, including concerts, Holocaust remembrance events, a workshop promoting Arab-Israeli coexistence and a 750-mile trans-Israel bicycle trail. The May 13-15 conference will open with a tribute to Israel's staunchest ally, the United States. It will be attended by Bush and feature Streisand singing the Hebrew prayer Avinu Malkeinu - Our Father Our King - which Peres described as unbelievably beautiful. "After 60 years we want to stand up and say 'thank you America," Peres said. Peres said the subjects of the conference are as varied as one can think of... from arts and science and philosophy and medicine and ecology. He said most of the of the conference's 2,000 participants will be Jewish, but that it's open to people of all faiths. The list of confirmed guests also includes Henry Kissinger, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, former Czech President Vaclev Havel, Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz, Google founder Sergey Brinn, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerman, Ratan Tata, chairman of India's Tata group, U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson, and Abdurrahman Wahid, former president of Indonesia, a country with no diplomatic relations with Israel. The date for Israel's Independence Day is marked each year according to the Hebrew calendar and falls this year on May 8. Related articles: Obama, Clinton, McCain to vice-chair Israel 60th anniversary panel Gov't mulls marking Israel's 60th anniversary with tax cut Bookmark to del.icio.us   Meeting Carter Noam Shalit: The fact that Carter isn't pro-Israel may be beneficial. Family pressure Shin Bet admits using relatives to pressure jailed Palestinians.   1.   60 years of evil, ethnic cleansing 14:28  |  Khalid 09/04/08   2.   At least a "warm meal" for Gorbi......:) 14:32  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/04/08   3.   Thank heavens only a commercial guy from India!As for Streisand, 14:45  |  lakshmi 09/04/08   4.   Do You Have to Have That Loathesome Streisand Woman? 15:42  |  MIKE 09/04/08   5.   # 1 - 1.300 years of islamic stupidity 15:45  |  Guido 09/04/08   6.   to attend a May conference focusing on Jewish and Israeli contrib 15:50  |  Rimon 09/04/08   7.   where`s the henry wallace offspring 15:55  |  Rob of Melbourne 09/04/08   8.   RE: Do You Have to Have That Loathesome Streisand Woman? 16:15  |  Morris Dancer 09/04/08   9.   60 years of unparalled achievements of one of the numerically... 16:20  |  Haham Me Bta Yam 09/04/08   10.   An insider-jewish party is more like it 16:34  |  Kris Lazar 09/04/08   11.   3,000 + 60 years of liberation from occupation 17:02  |  David 09/04/08   12.   #1, Arabs ethnically cleanses land of Jews for 80+ years 17:07  |  David 09/04/08   13.   Happy Birthday Israel 17:55  |  Yosemite 09/04/08   14.   lakshmi 18:37  |  mike 09/04/08   15.   #12 19:09  |  Jake 09/04/08   16.   #6, Rimon, sounds like lot of Arab charters I have read 19:52  |  David 09/04/08   17.   lakshmi #3 19:55  |  Mickey 09/04/08   18.   Rimon #6 20:33  |  Mickey 09/04/08   19.   #10 Striesand + other pureblood Jews 21:00  |  Rocky 09/04/08   20.   What a turnout 21:03  |  Hal 09/04/08   21.   I Wonder... 22:34  |  Mohammed Choudhury 09/04/08   22.   #1khalid sweety-Ethnic cleansing?No one can beat the Moslems... 23:01  |  bat yam 09/04/08   23.   Every body wants bow to Israel for 23:02  |  TOMY 09/04/08   24.   17 Mickey,they(the Lobby)must have gotten to her! 23:04  |  lakshmi 09/04/08   25.   Congrats Israel! Arabs have not learned after 60 years! 23:10  |  lakshmi 09/04/08   26.   And each and every one will become a... 23:20  |  Deborah 09/04/08   27.   How much is Streisand charging? 23:20  |  Deborah 09/04/08   28.   B-list speakers always available for Jewish functions 23:43  |  Chanalau, Tova 09/04/08   29.   60 Years 00:36  |  Gabriel 10/04/08   30.   An embarassent 00:54  |  david 10/04/08   31.   Kalid 1-If you arabs had put the same effort, energy & compassion 01:09  |  common sense 10/04/08   32.   Israel turning sixty. 02:36  |  Maureen Ann 10/04/08   33.   #25 Thanks Princess for clearing up your position about Jews. 03:24  |  Panther Jet 10/04/08   34.   Attention!Post 25 is a fake post! 04:48  |  lakshmi 10/04/08   35.   60th celebrations 23:53  |  ehud 10/04/08   36.   Bat Yam, ata chacham 03:46  |  sweis Melbourne 14/04/08

Read & React Ex-U.S. pres. Carter to Haaretz: 'Israel must talk to everyone' Responses: 54 Livni to tell Gulf leaders in Qatar: Iran the threat, not Israel Responses: 12 Akiva Eldar: Olmert must not let himself be led by extremists Send response Israel and U.S. sign nuclear cooperation agreement Responses: 15 Rosner's Domain Is Israel finished? (WTR) Poll: Were you convinced that America should stay in Iraq? The rabbi, the preacher and love of Israel Guest: US-Israel defense pact would be a bad idea The Rosner-Levy debate on bloggingheads.tv More Headlines 09:08 Israel, U.S. sign nuclear cooperation agreement 09:09 Ex-U.S. pres. Carter to Haaretz: 'Israel must talk to everyone' 09:10 Livni to tell Gulf leaders in Qatar: Iran the threat, not Israel 09:12 IDF probing why Palestinians held 16 hours at checkpoint 07:47 Shin Bet admits using relatives to pressure jailed Palestinians 09:27 Evangelicals urge police to act on harassment of messianic Jews 08:03 Bad weather delays search for missing Israeli tourist in New Zealand 08:24 Bar-On: Israel will withstand the world economic crisis 06:44 What's up, Doc? Carrot crops grow costly in face of Gaza fire 21:49 Netanyahu: Israel's government has no leadership or direction Previous Editions Select Day 13 apr 11 apr 10 apr 09 apr 08 apr 07 apr 06 apr 04 apr 03 apr 02 apr 01 apr 31 mar

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