State of Israel pays final respects to former PM Ariel Sharon

US Vice President Joe Biden said it was a great honor to represent the United States at former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon\’s funeral service.

Biden said he knew Sharon more than 30 years, and that as a young senator, upon being invited in to Sharon\’s office, it didn\’t take him long to understand why the general was called a bulldozer.

"The security of his people was always Arik\’s unwavering mission – a non-breakable commitment to the future of Jews, whether 30 years or 300 years from now," he said.

Biden said Sharon engendered strong opinions, but he always knew what was guiding him.

"Like all historic leaders, he had a north star that guided him. The north star which he never – in my observation – deviated from. His north star was the survival of the State of Israel and the Jewish people

President Shimon Peres eulogized former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a "friend, leader and general. We\’re departing fron you today. You were a shoulder that the nation\’s security could rest upon on."

Peres also said that Sharon\’s life was interwoven in the history of the State and that he dedicated his life to the country.

"Arik was a man of the land, and he protected this land like a lion, and he became a military legend in his lifetime," he said.

Peres said Sharon was always able to drive away dangers but never pushed off decisions.

"You made decisions and you came out victorious," he said. "Our great leader, rest in peace. The land from whence you came will embrace you in its great and warm arms of the history of our people." 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Sharon "one of the greatest generals that the Jewish people and the Israel Defense Forces had ever known."

Netanyahu said that Sharon belonged to the generation of founders and the generation of independence.

"Israel\’s independence was dependent on a generation of Jewish fighters that renewed our heritage of Jewish heroism in the land of Israel, and Sharon played a central role in building this heritage 

 

National final farewell

The preparations for the funeral of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who passed away on Saturday after eight years in a coma, were completed Sunday night. Anemone Hill was prepared for his burial beside his beloved late wife Lily, as special screens were laid out in the field in order to transmit the service to the thousands who are expected to attend the funeral. Security adjustments have also been made to the service that is to take place only a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip.

The day is set to begin with a national funeral service at the Knesset Plaza in Jerusalem. President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and representatives from Sharon\’s family all take part in the ceremony. Several esteemed guests from around the world attend service, including US Vice President Joe Biden, former Brish Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Prime Minister Jiří Rusnok, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Russian Duma Chair Sergey Naryshkin.

Two speakers represent the Sharon family at the Knesset: Marit Danon, who was Sharon\’s personal secretary during his time in office, and Shimon Kahaner, who was a soldier under his command in the IDF.

At noon, at the end of the Knesset ceremony, a military convoy will take Sharon to Sycamore Ranch, and pass through Latrun, where Sharon, a man who fought in almost all of Israel\’s wars, crossed the Suez Canal in Yom Kippur War and served as defense minister, will be given a special salute by IDF\’s top staff, next to the wall commemorating those who have fallen in Israel\’s wars.

Following the ceremony in Latrun, which is not open to the public, the funeral procession will head to Anemone Hill, where Sharon will be laid to final rest beside his late wife Lily. Sharon\’s sons Omri and Gilad are expected to speak at the event, as well as IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.