Testimony

Ilan Ramon - a personal reflection

by Giora Rom, Director General
The Jewish Agency for Israel

3 February 2003
Dear Friends,

The Jewish Agency joins with you in mourning the untimely deaths of the seven astronauts aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle, among whom was the first Israeli astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon.

It has been my privilege to count Ilan among my friends for the past 20 years, a relationship which began when I was his commanding officer at the Ramon Air Force Base. He was an extraordinary individual, and his strong ties to Judaism, as well as to Israel, are well-known to all of you by now through media coverage before take-off and after the tragic end of this mission.

What might be less well-known, however, was his strong belief in the global Jewish community. Exactly one year ago, in January 2002, Ilan attended an event hosted jointly by the Jewish Agency and the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. He spoke briefly at that meeting, but his words carried a strong message. He said that the major lesson he had learned from living in the US was that Israelis and the members of Jewish communities outside of Israel are one and the same people. “Israel needs the support the Jewish communities give us,” he said, “and I believe that the Jewish people need Israel.”

Ilan went on to say that he received many letters from Jewish children all over America, expressing their pride that he had been chosen to represent Israel on the Columbia. However, he said “…every letter takes me far beyond where I am going to be in space.”

The Jewish Agency joins with the people of Israel and the US in offering our heartfelt condolences to the families of the seven astronauts aboard the Columbia Space Shuttle.

Sincerely,