In Israel, Sharon Stone Compares Mideast Peace Process to Going to the Gym

Sharon Stone is one of several celebrities visiting Israel for Shimon Peres's 90th birthday celebrations taking place this week.

While in Jerusalem on Tuesday, the actress visited sick children at the Hadassah University Hospital's Ein Kerem campus. There, she shared with reporters an analogy for the Middle East peace process. It’s like working out at the gym.

Sharon Stone visits a classroom for children hospitalized at Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem (Photo: Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“I think there can be peace in the Middle East any minute that you choose to have it. We can have peace in the Middle East now, the minute that we just do it,” Stone said.

“It’s like going to the gym, when do you not want to be fat? Today? When do you want to be in shape? Today? When do you want to stop being mean? How about today?” she added.

The Times of Israel provides more quotes from her visit:

Stone, a convert to Buddhism, said that we must make small changes and forgive people on the individual level, which can have even an international effect.

“If each individual person wants peace and wants happiness, what choice does the government have but to act accordingly?”

“I love Israel, I love the food, I love the people,” she said, adding that this love for Israel should extend across borders.

“Do you know what’s the smartest thing?” she asked the young patients at her table.

“Loving.”

Stone has for years raised funds and public awareness to find a cure for HIV/AIDS. Besides her visit with the children, she met with the head of Hadassah’s pediatric AIDS unit Professor Dan Engelhard.

While in Israel, she also received the Isaiah Award for Distinguished Leadership from the organization Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal (UIA).

According to the Jerusalem Post, she said in her acceptance speech, “We have shortages of crops, but no shortage of wars. This is an illogical state of affairs.”

The Jerusalem Post writes that she also referenced the Bible:

Stone, who currently serves as the Global Campaign Chair of the American Foundation for AIDS research and is the cultural chair for YALA, an online organization for Peace in the Middle East, discussed the resonance of the prophet Isaiah’s legacy and what the award personally means to her.

“The prophet Isaiah spoke about existing in the moment of now,” Stone said, speaking to her belief that most world conflicts stem from people who are driven by their fears and are unable to live “in the moment.”

It’s unclear to which verse from the Book of Isaiah she was referring.

One lucky Sharon Stone fan was in the right place at the right time. While visiting Tel Aviv, she bumped into a man wearing a tee shirt printed with the iconic image of the actress crossing her legs in the film "Basic Instinct." Israeli media report that she graciously stopped to pose for a photo with the lucky guy.

The Times of Israel reports that the photo has been viewed 400,000 times since being posted online on Tuesday. One Reddit user quipped, "... suddenly he never had to change his fb [Facebook] profile pic ever again."

Here is video of Stone's comments comparing the peace process to going to the gym and working out: