On the 31st of July, 2013, President of Israel Shimon Peres came to Lithuania with the two day state visit. On the 1st of August, on the invitation of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, before heading to the commemorational ceremony in Paneriai, Peres visited VGSJM Tolerance Centre.

Director of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum Markas Zingeris and the member of the Seimas, Chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Group with the Knesset of Israel Emanuelis Zingeris, as well as the Head of the Tolerance Centre Ieva Šadzevičienė welcomed the Presidents. Peres and Grybauskaitė were invited to visit the permanent exposition of the Tolerance Centre “The Lost World: The Encounters”, which was recently renewed. Director Zingeris told President Peres the rescue story of the priceless exhibit – the cartouche with the Tablets of the Law, which used to hang in the Great Synagogue of Vilnius. Director also talked about the main goals of the Tolerance Centre, safeguarding the Litvak art and history heritage, working in the field of the human rights, implementing the educational projects.

Zingeris presented the souvenirs for the President Peres and President Grybauskaitė: the copy of the wooden puppet – “King Solomon”, created by the Jewish folk artist Aaron Chait, whose composition “The Throne of King Solomon” is being exhibited at the Tolerance Centre. Then giving the souvenirs Director Zingeris joked, he hopes that Presidents will be “taking wise decisions as King Solomon did in their daily tasks”.

In the end of the day President Peres was awarded with Vilnius Honorary Citizenship. He was speaking to the journalists: “I felt in Vilnius, like home, the exceptional warmth was shown for me, I was finely welcomed. Sun is shining, people are warm”, President shared his impressions. Peres admitted that before coming to Lithuania he knew our country mostly from the historical perspective. Now he saw that the future is being created. He described Vilnius as the combination of the future and the past*.

 (*quote from: Eglė Dirgytė, „Izraelio Prezidentas Shimonas Peresas: „Vilniuje jaučiausi kaip namuose“, www.15.min.lt, 2013 08 01)