Ariel Sharon's two sons, Omri and Gilad, eulogized their father on Monday as the late Prime Minister was buried near his Negev home. Saying that it was a great privilege to be raised by him, the two tearfully bid goodbye to a father who was sometimes larger than life for them.
“Ariel – thus I called you much of my adult life – it was a great merit to see how seriously you took the job of Prime Minister,” said Omri Sharon. “You would study new issues, you would take important decisions, you would worry about the State of Israel that was so important to you. Look around you, Ariel, and see the nation that has gathered around. See how they thank you for your leadership, for protecting them, see how they love you and mourn for you. You were worthy of their love,” he said.
Sharon's younger son, Gilad, said that “in 1967, when Omri was three and I was 11 months old, our big brother Gur was killed in a military accident. This incident influenced the family. Gur was a special person, a natural leader. It was amazing to me that our father continued to function, despite the fact that the hurt did not lessen over the years,” he said.
In his eulogy, Gilad Sharon listed a series of his father's accomplishments, expressing awe as to how he accomplished so much in his life.
“Time after time you turned the impossible into reality,” he said. “This is how legends are made. You never left a task unfinished, you never left an injured person behind. There is no area that you touched that your imprint cannot be found. You were on the front lines for nearly 60 years.”
For those, he added, who felt hostility to Sharon for deporting 10,000 Jews from their homes with his 2005 disengagement plan, “they must remember that you established over 100 towns and settlements, more than anyone ever,” he said
“Our beloved father, you have returned home,” he concluded.