Ilan Ramon's Funeral Tomorrow to Be Closed to the Media

Colonel Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut, will be laid to rest tomorrow at Moshav Nahalal in the Jezreel Valley. The funeral will be attended by family and friends, and at the request of the family will be closed to the media.

Ramon's coffin will arrive in Israel from the United States this afternoon attended by his close relatives and Israel Defense Forces representatives. The coffin will immediately be taken to the Israel Air Force base adjacent to Ben-Gurion Airport for a state memorial ceremony, which will be attended by President Moshe Katsav, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Ya'alon.

Ramon and his six fellow astronauts were killed when their space shuttle, Columbia, broke up over Texas during its re-entry to Earth's atmosphere on February 1, following a 16-day research mission.

Although Ramon hailed from Be'er Sheva, his family chose Nahalal as a final resting place because of the astronaut's great love for the area, where he served for many years at the nearby Ramat David Air Force base.

The Ramon family requested that the funeral be a closed event attended only by relatives and close friends, without media coverage.

Meanwhile, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert is initiating a visit to the city by the families of the Columbia crew. In a video call during the ill-fated mission, Ramon told Prime Minister Sharon that the crew members were planning a visit to Jerusalem. Yesterday Olmert sent a letter to Ramon's widow, Rona, saying that he wanted to organize a visit to the capital for the families of the dead astronauts.

"I waited in anticipation for Ilan's landing so that I could help him fulfill his wish to bring the astronauts and their families to Jerusalem ... Now circumstances have turned Ilan's wish to a last testament that I hope to fulfill with you," Olmert wrote.