A public ceremony was held this afternoon at an Air Force Base near Ben Gurion International Airport, in memory of Col. Ilan Ramon. His coffin arrived this afternoon from the United States, and his family arrived on a separate plane. Prime Minister Sharon, Defense Minister Mofaz, and others spoke, and representatives of NASA participated as well. Ramon will be buried tomorrow in Nahalal, in the Jezreel Valley, in a military ceremony; the family has asked that the media not cover it, and that only friends and family take part.
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert sent a letter of condolences to Ramon's widow, Rona, last week, in which he asked her to extend an invitation to Jerusalem in his name to the families of the other Columbia astronauts. Ilan Ramon himself, during a televised video presentation from the spaceship, had invited the astronauts to visit Israel.
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert sent a letter of condolences to Ramon's widow, Rona, last week, in which he asked her to extend an invitation to Jerusalem in his name to the families of the other Columbia astronauts. Ilan Ramon himself, during a televised video presentation from the spaceship, had invited the astronauts to visit Israel.