(Photo: twitter/IsraeliPM)
Israeli and world leaders joined with the people of Israel today for the funeral of Shimon Peres, the former President and Prime Minister who passed away this week at the age of 93. The Times of Israel's Sara Miller reports on the gathering at Mt. Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem for the beloved statesman who current Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called "the eternal fountain of youth for all of us":
Former president Shimon Peres, the last of Israel’s founding fathers, was laid to rest Friday morning at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem with military honors, at a ceremony attended by US President Barack Obama, Britain’s Prince Charles, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and leaders from around the world.
As dignitaries from Israel and abroad filed into the cemetery before the arrival of Peres’s coffin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shook hands and spoke briefly with Abbas, their first meeting in several years.
Obama, who landed an hour before the ceremony began, stood beside the prime minister as the Knesset honor guard bore the coffin past the assembled crowd.
Peres died early Wednesday after a severe stroke two weeks earlier at the age of 93. His passing sparked an outpouring of condolences and expressions of admiration from around the world, with heads of state, religious leaders and even a handful of senior Arab officials praising his six-decade career as a nation builder, defense planner, politician and, at the end, peacemaker who came to embody for many the optimistic outlook of an innovative and confident Israel.
President Reuven Rivlin delivered the first eulogy for his predecessor, who served in nearly all of the country’s top offices during his decades of public service...
