Eulogy by President Yitzhak Navon

It was a long road he had to travel since his birth in a far remote town in South Yemen.

His childhood, in that impoverished and disease stricken country was spent studying the Holy Scriptures according to the DOR DEA method of Rabbi Yihie Kapah.

Together with his father and brother, he served as a weaver in the Palace of IMAM Yihie and between one thread and another he would weave, length and breadth, the dream of his reaching the land of his yearnings.

He was the epitome of a public figure. By his own free will, he became a slave to that public. Naturally, sometimes, and not due to his own initiative, he found himself in the midst of conflicts and controversies. However, these incidents never disrupted his friendship with his rivals.

As Speaker of the Knesset, he was often upset with the flaws that occurred in the parliamentary work and was worried about the negative image the Knesset might have in the eyes of the public. Standing on the Knesset podium, he read the silent prayer that is recited before the MUSAF of YOM KIPPUR: “Thou shalt stand with sharp edges with the emissaries of the Jewish People who have come, today, before you. Teach them what to say, make them understand their words, inform them what to ask, so that they may not say the wrong things and will not be ashamed of their responses”.