Thousands attended the funeral procession of former Israeli President Yitzhak Navon on Sunday, starting at the President's Residence in Jerusalem and culminating in his burial on Mount Herzl cemetery.  

"You merited to lead a life hand in hand with the State," current President Reuven Rivlin eulogized at the ceremony. "At every junction and at every event, your special stamp is ingrained life a guiding stone along the path.”

Rivlin further said that Navon established the Presidential Residence as a house for the nation.

“Everyone knew that your door was open to any man or women in Israel. We also knew that we could look to you… when the path was not nearly clear enough.”

Har Herzl ceremony

The burial ceremony for President Yitzhak Navon began Sunday afternoon at 12:00 pm at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. 

Famed entertainer Yehoram Gaon eulogized Navon first, praising him as a father figure whose opinions he greatly respected. Gaon noted he was "proud to be Sephardi" because of Navon. 

President Reuven Rivlin spoke next lauding Navon for his years of public service and his love for Jerusalem. 

"The way you presented the presidency and the way you carried yourself is a personal example for all presidents after you."

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed Navon's commitment to his Sephardi ancestry and culture. 

According to Netanyahu, Navon always used to say that he was "the last generation of imprisonment and the first generation of freedom" - for his heritage as a descendant of the expelled Jews of Spain and his role in establishing the State of Israel. 

Former president Shimon Peres described Navon as "worthy of being my brother." 

"He fought for the country early in his life and for peace for the rest of his life," Peres said, before describing their work together under Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. 

"He loved his people and knew in his heart that his people loved him."

Navon's widow, Miri Shapir, thanked her husband for their 20 years together, calling him a "true democrat."

"You hoped and fought for peace...I hope, I expect that leaders, young leaders will walk in your path."

President with a vision

Yitzhak Navon was born in 1921 in Jerusalem, and fought under the Haganah in his home city during the War of Independence.

He joined the Knesset as an MK between 1968 for the left-wing Rafi party of Ben Gurion, which during that time merged with Labor, and was elected by his fellow MKs as the State of Israel's fifth president in 1978.

Navon served as president until 1983, when he was succeeded by Chaim Herzog.

He did not opt to run for a second term and instead, unlike any of his predecessors or successors, opted instead to return to the Knesset as an MK, where he served as an MK from 1984-1992 - most of which (1984-1990) he spent as Minister of Education.

He leaves behind his wife, Miri Shapir, as well as a son and a daughter from his first marriage - to Ophira Navon, who lost her battle with cancer in 1993.