President Reuven Rivlin and his wife, Nechama, on Wednesday evening placed a flower on the statue of the ninth President of Israel, Shimon Peres, as they entered the Presidential Residence upon their return from Ukraine.
Rivlin had cut short his official visit in Ukraine upon receiving news of the death of Shimon Peres and landed in Israel on Wednesday evening.
Earlier in the day, Rivlin eulogized Peres and said, "There is no period in the history of the State of Israel of which Shimon did not write parts on his own. He was one man, carrying the entire nation on the wings of imagination, on the wings of vision. A man who is a symbol of the great spirit of this nation. Shimon made us look ahead, and we loved him for it. We loved him because he made us dare to imagine, not what was here but what can be.
"This is a sad day for the people of Israel and for the State of Israel,” continued Rivlin. “Upon learning of his death, we all bow our heads. I will carry with me his memory, his handshake, his sensible advice which he gave lovingly, and in particular his spirit of hope which he breathed into this people. A spirit of hope and peace which was his path and desire.”
On Thursday the President will pass over the coffin of Shimon Peres which will be placed at the Knesset at 8:30 a.m.