JERUSALEM รข?? Tens of thousands of Israelis came to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Sunday to say farewell to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who died Saturday, eight years after he was felled by a massive stroke.
Following a memorial service at the Knesset on Monday morning, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries including U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Sharon will be buried at his beloved ranch in southern Israel, next to his late wife, Lily.
At the Knesset Sunday, dark clouds hovered over the plaza, where Sharon’s coffin, covered with a crisp blue-and-while flag, lay in state. The coffin, below which colorful flowered wreaths sat, was flanked by an honor guard. Flags flew in the cold wind at half staff. Some of the mourners lit memorial candles placed on the ground.
The steady stream of visitors, though respectable, was much smaller than the huge numbers who stood for hours in line after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. That murder, committed in 1995 by an Orthodox Jew who wanted to stop the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, shocked the nation.
Sharon’s death, in contrast, was due to the stroke, and had been expected for more than a week.
Still, visitors at the Knesset
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