 |
 |
 |
|
|
An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter plane flies over the area where the coffin of former Israeli President Ezer Weizman is on public display prior to burial in Or Akiva (AP)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By israelinsider staff and partners April 26, 2005 |
|
| |
 |
| An Israeli man and his children stand next to the flag draped coffin of former Israeli President Ezer Weizman (AP) |
| |
Hundreds of dignitaries, including ministers, military officials, rabbis, and Palestinian representatives, attend former President Ezer Weizman's funeral.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon eulogized Weizman, saying generations of soldiers, pilots, and teenagers were taught Weizman's story, "which is the story of the Land of Israel."
"We will continue to hear your voice, which expresses faith and confidence in the future of Israel," Sharon said. "We walked a long road together? and took life and death decisions, in order to live here in peace and security."
President Moshe Katsav eulogized Weizman, describing him as a man of vision and many deeds. Katsav said Weizman was one of the "leading figures who influenced the State of Israel's character.
"Ezer Weizman was among the most characteristic symbols of Israeliness," the president said.
"He fought for peace and did everything for it," said the Palestinian Authority's Saeb Erekat, who expressed his hope for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that he would remember Weizman as a man of peace.
Meanwhile, leading Druze figures, who were also on hand to pay their respects, said Weizman offered his assistance to the country's Druze community over the years.
"He was a man with peaceful views, who supported peace, and we greatly appreciate it," one Druze leader said.
Azzam Azzam, the Druze-Israeli recently released from Egyptian prison also spoke highly of Weizman, who engaged in intense efforts to secure Azzam's release.
"He is a great man, he will be greatly missed by the State of Israel in general and the Druze community in particular," Azzam said.
Thousands of people turned up at the municipal auditorium in Or Akiva this morning to pay their last respects to Ezer Weizman, Israel's seventh president, who died Sunday night at the age of 80.
The funeral concluded with an airforce salute over Or Yehuda. A black Spitfire, known in the air force as Weizman's "private plane," performed a memorial flyover in the Negev and then landed in Tel Aviv on Monday. It will fly over Weizman's funeral procession Tuesday before returning to its base in the south.
Since his passing, condolences have continued to pour in from local and foreign dignitaries, for the former president, Air Force commander, politician, and ultimate representative of the renewed Israeli Zionism:
Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Weizman "displayed both military and civilian courage and as he fought bravely for Israel's security, so he fought boldly for peace. Ezer became a legend while still alive and will remain so in our memory."
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter released a statement Monday expressing his condolences on the death of Weizman. Carter said Weizman was a real Israeli hero both in times of war and of peace. He said the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, which he brokered, is a symbol of what can be achieved by a combination of statesmanship and political courage.
Jordan's King Abdullah wrote to Katsav to express his condolences on Weizman's death. He conveyed his deepest sorrow to the Israeli nation and said he hoped God would give Weizman's family peace at this difficult time.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called Weizman's widow Reuma, to express his condolences. Mubarak referred to Weizman as "my dear friend" and apologized for not being able to attend the funeral, saying he had to remain in Egypt to host the visiting Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia also sent his condolences to Katsav, the Israeli people and the Weizman family.
Weizman had been hospitalized several times recently as a result of his deteriorating health, but his relatives said he did not suffer in his last days.
The former president was born on June 15, 1924 in Tel Aviv and grew up in Haifa. He came from an aristocratic Israeli family and was the nephew of the country's first President Chaim Weizmann and the brother-in-law of noted Israeli warrior and politician Moshe Dayan.
In World War II, Weizman served as a pilot in the British Air Force and later joined the Irgun underground organization, which fought against the British rule in the Land of Israel. He was among the Israeli Air Force's pioneers and headed it in 1958-1966.
In 1977, he was elected to the 9th Knesset and appointed as Defense Minister in former Prime Minister Menachem Begin's first Likud -led government.
But starting in 1978, Weizman's political views began to change. He rejected the "Greater Israel" doctrine he previously supported, and called for advancing peace talks with Egypt. Later, he became one of the architects of the peace agreement with Israel's southern neighbor.
In 1980, Weizman left the government following disagreements with Begin. Several months later, Weizman voted against the government in the Knesset and was kicked out of the right-wing Herut movement.
Weizman later established his own party, "Yachad," but eventually joined the Labor party . There, too, he was known as a dove and pushed for direct negotiations with Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization.
The former president was elected to the 12th Knesset and became the Minister of Science and Technology. At the end of 1989, he was dismissed from the cabinet for a year and a half following a crisis with Likud Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir over the question of negotiations with the PLO.
Weizman later quit the Knesset in light of the intention to nominate him as a presidential candidate. In March of 1993 he was elected as President, and in 1998 was chosen for a second term.
In 1999, after journalists exposed a secret loan he received, calls for Weizman's resignation mounted. Although the investigation against him was closed, Weizman later announced he would quit and in July 2000 become the first Israeli president to ever resign.
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
