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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, on Wednesday morning, paid his respects to the late Rona Ramon and passed by her coffin. Following is an excerpt from his remarks:

“I would define Rona Ramon’s life as a tragedy of Biblical proportions, but she was also a hero of the sprit, of Biblical proportions. The loss of Ilan and Asaf, her loss at a young age, these are cruel blows to a splendid family.

“But what conquered Rona’s heart was the other side of this hard coin, ad this is the way in which she stood straight up and continued to work, not only as a wife who lost her husband and as a mother who lost her son, but as a leader who mobilized both herself and others to keep working, creating and leading in cultivating excellence, genius and the abilities latent in our people, and perhaps in each one of us, and the ability to raise this ever higher.

“There was also optimism, the strength to act and stamina in her. As a mother who took under her wings not only a splendid family, but very many in the nation and the world. This commitment to action and the desire to both create an agency and tools to continue this spirit; this, perhaps, was her greatest contribution.

“She entered into all of our hearts. We will always remember you and we will always aspire to follow in your footsteps.”

R’L, albeit with good intentions, Mrs. Ramon has instructed the family to have her remains cremated, a move she believed would spare her surviving children and parents the pain of another funeral, as they already buried her late husband Ilan, who was killed in the Columbia spacecraft explosion, and son Assaf, who was killed in a F-16 crash.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/photo credit: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO)