Israeli president Shimon Peres is expected to be knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II when he visits the UK next month. It is rare for Britain to bestow this honor of non-British nationals. Past recipients have included former American president "Sir Ronald Regan," U2's lead singer "Sir Bono," and Microsoft founder "Sir Bill Gates."
As noted on this email list in 2006, the Nobel laureate, human rights campaigner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel was also knighted. Foreign citizens who receive honorary knighthoods do not in fact have the right to call themselves "Sir".
The other highlight of Peres' visit, which begins on November 18, will be a speech before both houses of the British Parliament (the House of Lords and the House of Commons). Peres will also deliver an address at Oxford University, where he is expected to urge the leading lights of British academia to lift the unofficial academic boycott placed on Israeli institutions.
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