Dimona nuclear facility to be named for Shimon Peres
At tombstone unveiling after 30 days of mourning, Netanyahu hails former PM and president as ‘beacon of knowledge’
Family members and friends of Israel’s recently deceased president and prime minister Shimon Peres joined the country’s leaders on Friday morning for the unveiling of his tombstone at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin recalled the man who helped to forge Israel’s military prowess and launched the Oslo peace process with the Palestinians, and Netanyahu said the Dimona nuclear facility would be named for him.
“I wish to announce here that, upon my request, the Committee for Nuclear Energy has decided to rename the Dimona nuclear reactor facility after Shimon Peres – an appropriate name after a man of vision and a man of action. Shimon had numerous contributions – contributions to peace, to economics, to increasing immigration to Israel, to encouraging Israeli innovation — but all of these are only possible if our defense is secure,” Netanyahu said as he paid tribute to the man credited with founding the Jewish state’s nuclear program.
“Shimon walked among us as a beacon of knowledge and curiosity. Eyes shining, he would weave dreams and hopes with his indestructible optimism. He left us with one instruction: to establish a state that would not shame our children nor disappoint our grandchildren. We will do everything, dear Shimon, to make that happen.”
Starting the ceremony, Rivlin remembered his predecessor’s energy and determination, as well as his desire to do good in the world.
“Above all of your successes, you had a huge soul,” Rivlin said. “You never tired and never rested. You worked tirelessly on building a future not only for Israel, but for the entire world.”
Rivlin said Peres’s legacy to Israelis called for a Jewish nation “loyal to its people and heritage, while at the same time seeking to better the world” and “improve it.”
The unveiling ceremony came at the conclusion of the traditional 30-day mourning period since the elder statesman’s death on September 28.
Moving memorial service marking the shloshim days since the passing of Shimon Peres, our thoughts are with his family pic.twitter.com/FD4Ev1XmNt
— Jon Hanssen-Bauer (@JonHanssenBauer) October 28, 2016
Peres’s grandchildren also paid tribute to the former leader, recalling his place in Israel’s history and his importance to the state.
“You never failed to make me laugh. I loved hearing your first-hand accounts of the history of Israel. You were always the cool grandfather – wearing your beautiful sunglasses,” said Yael Peres. “Even at the age of 90 you still looked young. I love you with no end and miss you so much.”
Another granddaughter, Mika Almog said: “This feeling, this loss, echoes in the hearts of the people of Israel. But there is something imperative to understand: there will never be a single day without Shimon Peres. Just as there is no building without a foundation, no victory without bravery, and no future without hope. There will never be a day without Shimon Peres. I promise you this, grandfather. But even more importantly, I promise to ensure the future of our children. So rest in peace, because we will not rest for a moment.”
At the Peres family’s request, the tombstone bears a passage from the biblical prophet Isaiah about the end of war, as well as a quote from Israel’s first prime minister — and Peres’s early mentor and boss — David Ben-Gurion.
Ben-Gurion’s quote reads, “Israel’s spiritual character and inner strength will in the future be the deciding factor for our security and international standing.”
The quote from the second chapter of Isaiah predicts a future when nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, and mankind will not again know war.”
The engraved plaque beside the gravesite reads:
One of the founding fathers of Israel, which he served his entire life. Ninth President of the State of Israel. Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance.
Among those who laid the foundations for Israel’s strategic deterrence and defense capabilities, one of the founders of the reactor in Dimona, and of Israel’s defense industry. Led Israel to become an innovation and technological superpower.
Worked tirelessly to advance peace between Israel and her neighbors and to strengthen tolerance and coexistence within Israeli society.
Graduate of “Ben Shemen” and founder of “Alumot.” Statesman, lover of literature, poetry and art. Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A man of vision and action.
Peres, who held nearly every high office in Israel, died some two weeks after suffering a major stroke.
His funeral at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery drew dozens of world leaders, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and US presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with a 33-person delegation of American officials who made a six-hour stop in Israel for the ceremony.
AP contributed to this report.
