Posted on 02/04/2003 1:56:06 PM PST by anotherview
Feb. 4, 2003 Finance Minister Shalom asks Bush to send another Israeli Astronaut to space By THE JERUSALEM POST INTERNET STAFF
Finance Minister Silvan Shalom has asked US President Bush to consider sending another Israeli Astronaut into space as part of a NASA mission.
Israel Radio reports that Bush reacted favorably to the request.
Finance Minister Silvan Shalom was attending the memorial ceremony for the Columbia Astronauts in Houston as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's representative.
Shalom asked President Bush to continue the cooperation between Israel and the US in the exploration of space.
During the ceremony, US President Bush eulogized all seven fallen Astronauts at a ceremony in Houston a short while ago.
About Israel's first Astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, Bush had this to say: "Ilan Ramon flew above his home, the land of Israel".
"He said the quiet that envelopes space makes the beauty even more powerful, and I only hope that the quiet will one day spread to my country". "Ilan was a patriot, the devoted son of a Holocaust victim. His wife Rona said that Ilan left us at his peak moment, in his favorite place, and with the people he loved".
Bush said that US space exploration would go on. Humanity's desire to explore is a "desire written in the human heart. We find the best amongst us send them forth into darkness, to explore, and we pray that they come back. They go in peace for all mankind and all mankind is in their debt.
Some explorers do not return", said Bush. I offer the respect and gratitude of the people of the United States to the Astronauts. After President Bush finished his speech, US Navy Rabbi Harold Robinson recited David's Psalm 23: The Lord is My Shepherd.
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