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Honorable President, Mr. Shimon Peres,
Beloved Katzalski (Katzir) Family,
Distinguished Guests,
Few in number are those people whose modesty and simplicity of manner increase as they become greater.
There are few people who even when they reach the top, continue to conduct themselves in a humane and approachable manner.
Ephraim Katzir was such a man.
Even while President, he was never lofty.
Even when he carried out ground-breaking research, he never forgot his way, even for a moment.
Even when his name became known throughout the world, his love for Israel remained strong and deep-rooted.
A noble man, ethical, deep, thirsty for knowledge, a lover of mankind.
Ephraim Katzir bore with noble stoicism, indeed I would use this very word, with noble stoicism, the death of his beloved brother, Aharon, at the hands of murderous terrorists at the airport. He bore the terrible tragedies which struck his personal life with the same nobility.
He never complained nor gave up. In all likelihood, he did give up but outwardly he remained strong, carrying the deep pain in his heart, while continuing to contribute to his people in such a way that amazed and astonished the whole nation. Indeed, the life story of the fourth president of the State of Israel, is, to a great extent, the story of the revival of the Jewish people in its land.
This is a story consisting of the wonders of the Jewish mind – its sharpness, its innovativeness, its world-class originality – coupled with the incessant concern for the security of that same unique state, the State of Israel, the same responsibility for its security and existence.
Ephraim Katzir worked all his life in order to contribute his rare abilities to his people and his land.
During each and every one of the missions which he took upon himself, he always insisted that the mission was the main focus, rather than the person carrying out the mission. He behaved in such a manner, as a commander in the IDF and later as the chief scientist in the defense establishment, where he introduced many important innovations. He led central projects which made a significant contribution to the state's security and also greatly influenced civil industry.
This outlook of a quiet and modest contribution guided him and was evident even when he was elected to become the fourth president of the State of Israel.
After being elected to the lofty position of President of the State, he said – "I wasn't elected for the Presidency out of love for the Presidency, but rather out of the feeling that it is necessary to fulfill a national duty", and indeed he fulfilled this mission in his typical way: devotedly, seriously and modestly.
History awarded him tenure as President which started with an extremely bloody war, the Yom Kippur War, and which concluded with peace negotiations with the largest Arab country, peace between Israel and Egypt.
Even during this period President Katzir knew how to dedicate a considerable amount of his time to the fields of society and education, higher education and welfare and led a series of important enterprises and initiatives and always sought to connect the youth to science. He was a scientist and a president, a president and a scientist and the scientist of a specific people.
In his autobiography which was published recently, he tells:
"During some of the Presidential visits which I carried out in different places throughout the country, I set aside time to meet with groups of youth who were eager science students, out of a personal curiosity and also to emphasize the importance of their activities. I still remember clearly the satisfaction that I felt during one of these visits, when I saw teenage boys and girls in a development town, gazing at stars through telescopes which our committee had supplied them with, while excitedly deciphering the different lines of the spectrum."
Distinguished guests, these are the lines of the spectrum which characterized Ephraim Katzir – modesty, a love of knowledge and a love of the people. Katzir family, today you part from a loving father and a cherished grandfather and in your hearts, the sorrow and the pain is insurmountable. The State of Israel with a bowed head parts today from one of its most prominent sons, one of its most noble, our fourth president, Ephraim Katzir.
May his memory be blessed.
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