ISRAEL: Israelis bid farewell to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

Record ID: 397982

  • Title: ISRAEL: Israelis bid farewell to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
  • Date: 14th January 2014
  • Summary: SYCAMORE RANCH, ISRAEL (JANUARY 14, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MOURNER YITZHAK TURJEMAN PRAYING AT GRAVE OF FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) MOURNER YITZHAK TURJEMAN, SAYING: "I felt a lot, a lot of sorrow. I really loved him." TURJEMAN PRAYING AT GRAVE BORDER POLICE STANDING GUARD VARIOUS OF MOURNERS RACHEL AND ARIEH SAKAJUW LOOKING AT GRAV
  • Embargoed: 29th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA17MHJEJ7EG62FGJN1CKX8IWTS
  • Story Text: Israelis arrived at the burial site of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday (January 14), to pay their last respects a day after his official state funeral.
    Mourners paid tribute to the man hailed as a war hero at home but seen by many in the Arab world as a war criminal.
    "I felt a lot, a lot of sorrow. I really loved him," said Yitzhak Turjeman, after performing the ritual Jewish prayer for the dead over Sharon's grave.
    Many laid flowers and stones in memory of the former premier at his grave where he was buried next to his late wife, Lily.
    Arieh Sakajuw travelled from his home in central Israel to the Sharon family ranch in the south of the country to pay his last respects.
    "We came from Ness Tziyona to sympathies with the Sharon family, and to express the deep admiration we have for this man, for this hero," he said.
    "My heart is broken. It was such a long period, day after day, to fight. And besides, the man was a hero of Israel," added Rachel Sakajuw.
    Sharon died at the age of 85 on Saturday (January 11) after spending the last eight years in a coma caused by a stroke.
    The death of the former general reopened debate into his legacy. Opponents denounced his ruthless conduct in military operations while friends praised him as a strategic genius who as prime minister stunned the world in 2005 by pulling Israeli troops and settlers out of Gaza.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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