Violinist Itzhik Perlman. Photo: Wiki commons.

Famed violinist Itzhak Perlman has high hopes for Israel’s future, he told Huffington Post Live‘s Josh Zepps in an interview on Thursday.

“I’m an eternal optimist,” the native Israeli said, referring to the political state of affairs in his home country. “I always think ‘it’ll be okay,’ but that’s all I can think. A lot of people are saying ‘doom and gloom’ and so on. I’m hoping. I’m always hoping.”

Perlman was born in Tel Aviv in 1945, three years before the State of Israel was officially declared.

“It’s an amazing country. Every time I come there, things are changing. It’s an incredible place,” he added.

Currently, the Obama administration is working to find a solution that would allow Israeli peace talks with the Palestinian Authority to continue beyond the April 29 deadline that marks the end of an agreed-upon nine month negotiating period.

Watch Huffington Post Live‘s interview with Itzhak Perlman here.