Itzhak Perlman's won countless awards for his violin playing, but the esteemed musician has his hopes set on something much larger: peace in Israel.

"It's an amazing country. Every time I come there, things are changing. It's an incredible place," the native Israeli told HuffPost Live's Josh Zepps in an interview Thursday.

"I'm an eternal optimist," he added, 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 Israel was deemed an official 'nation-state.'

A sufferer of the polio virus since age four, Perlman's voiced his support of the 'End Polio Now' campaign, which you can donate to here.