"Today, with deep sorrow, we bid farewell to our beloved father, the ninth president of Israel," former President Shimon Peres' son Chemi said Wednesday. "The loss we feel today is that of the entire nation. We are all in pain." Israel's ninth president died Wednesday at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a major stroke. "He was one of the founding fathers of the State of Israel and served our people before we even had a country of our own," Chemi Peres said. "He worked tirelessly for Israel from the very first day of the state to the last day of his life. Our father's legacy has always been to look to tomorrow. We were privileged to be part of his private family, but today we sense that the entire nation of Israel and the global community share this great loss. We share this pain together. "Throughout his 70 years of public service, he was committed and devoted to Israel, serving as president, prime minister, defense minister, and many other key positions, which shaped our history. My father used to say, 'You are only as great as the cause you serve.' He believed in and loved his people until his last breath. "On behalf of our entire family, Id like to thank the medical professionals who treated my father with loyalty, devotion and professionalism. These people are angels on earth to us." In an interview with Channel 2, Peres' daughter Tsvia Walden said, "Dad was resistant and durable, but in time it turned out that even he cannot continue. This was his final destination." She said U.S. President Barack Obama "gave my father the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a heart-warming ceremony, an expression of an extraordinary friendship between them. ... In many ways my father embodied hope." Her husband, Professor Rafi Walden, who as well as being Peres' son-in-law was his personal physician, said, "We were moved to see world leaders stand before him like students looking up to their teacher and waiting to hear his wisdom on what was happening in the world." Walden added: "The morning of the stroke, he gave an hour and 15-minute long speech without any indications [that there was a problem], and stood by his great love and vision to advance Israel in the direction of progress. His life was cut short as he was carrying out his greatest passion: caring for and strengthening the state and advancing peace. His legacy will stay with us."
'Our loss belongs to entire nation,' late president's son says
Shimon Peres' children eulogize him, say personal, public loss are one • "He used to say, 'You are only as great as the cause you serve.' He loved his people until his last breath," says son Chemi • "My father embodied hope," daughter Tsvia says.
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