IAF officer, Lt. Assaf Ramon, was killed when the F-16 he was piloting crashed into the southern Hebron hills.
Binyamin Netanyahu:
“The nation is draped in sorrow over the death of Assaf, who fell from the skies, like his father Ilan, of blessed memory…The loss of one of these wonderful people, father and son, is a tragedy by itself. The loss of both brings with it unbearable pain. There is no consolation for Rona and the Ramon family, no consolation for the people of Israel. There are only tears.”
Rona Ramon congratulating Assaf as he earns his wings
Raffe
9/13/2009
Yet another of our brothers dies tragically.
Jack
9/14/2009
Baruch Dayan Emet.
josh
9/15/2009
Hashem yikom damo.
Even if a soldier dies in training, we can say ‘may God avenge his blood’ since it is our enemies that force us to draft our sons and daughters to learn and train for war. Flying an Israeli F16 is not for self-accomplishment but rather help in defending a nation that is still threatened with annihilation.
I know that Netanyahu can really identify with other families who’ve had men die in the line of duty so I don’t know why Netanyahu is not consoling, and saying there is no consolation (unless that came later in his speech – I hope). The consolation is the fact that Israelis will keep volunteering for the army and the country, even with the risk of harm. The consolation is in the fact that Israel appreciates the sacrifice of its soldiers.