Israel Prize laureate and former presidential candidate Miriam Peretz on Monday morning spoke about the need for unity among the Jewish nation, and shared her lessons from the strength which motivates the Jewish People to grow during crises.

"This nation does not have the option of remaining only in complete happiness, or in complete pain," Peretz told Kan Moreshet, adding that the Jewish nation, as a nation, moves between destruction and construction, remembering the past and a longing for a better future.

"We know how to take fragments and use them to construct a new building," she said, describing the power of the Jewish nation. She also equated this power with the story of Jacob, who fought an angel and asked him to "teach him to grow and get up."

"Hope means imagining reality...and believing in that imagination and acting," she said. Peretz called on each person to choose a positive action, change, and giving, in order to build themselves even during difficulties.

Regarding Israeli society's internal divisions, Peretz called for respectful discourse, asking Israelis to remember that "there are no enemies - there are brothers." She also noted the importance of unity, especially during times of crisis, and called for the power of unity to be brought into everyday life.

For the future, Peretz said, "I see the entire Gaza border area blooming....children with balloons....life continuing." She also stressed the Jewish nation's ability to unite during times of crisis, and called to use that strength during normal times as well.