Saying goodbye to Asaf Ramon
Happier times: Asaf and Rona Rimon at his graduation ceremony this summer. Photo by Dudu Greenspan/Flash 90.
No death in the Israeli army is ever taken lightly. This is a place where every father, son, brother, cousin or boyfriend has to serve, but the tragedy of this death, coming just a few years after his father’s, was apparent to all.
In February 2003, an intifada-scarred Israel watched with pride as Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli in space. His progress on the US shuttle Columbia, his reports back home, gave Israel a ray of hope in what was frankly an awful time. Even kids in kindergarten knew of his accomplishments and spoke about him as if he were a national hero.
On re-entry into earth’s atmosphere, the shuttle broke up and Ramon and the rest of the crew were all killed. All that remained of Ramon were a few pages of his diary , which were found two months later in a field – ironically, in the town of Palestine in Texas.
Asaf Ramon was 15 when his father died. He decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, and vowed that one day he too would go into space.
Like his father before him he was a top student, and he completed his flight-training course in the IAF as the best cadet in his class. In his passing out ceremony in July, President Peres gave him his wings.
We still don’t know what happened, or why Asaf Ramon crashed. He was flying at 720km an hour when he lost control of the plane near the Hebron Hills. Was it technical error or pilot error? What is clear is that in Israel this isn’t the personal tragedy of one family, it’s a tragedy for all.
The tributes are pouring in on blog sites everywhere, from Diamond Pilots, which carries a full story of the crash , to Dvir Reznik, who writes on his blog :
“Asaf – I hope you’ll find joy and peace where ever you are, watching over us from high in the clouds, reunited with your father.”
On NASA Watch, readers discuss in awe how a 20-year-old could be flying an F-16.
Unsurprisingly, Ramon’s death has opened up the whole painful argument of whether Israel should allow combat service by sons of bereaved families. At present it requires written consent by the mother, a less than ideal solution as any pressurized mother can vouch.
Back at my home all I could think of was what Rona Ramon went through when officers from the IAF knocked on her door for the second time in six years with the very worst kind of news.
Fred Teng Gets It
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Politics, Profiles, War, coexistence
Given the avalanche of hate against Israel on the internet, at anti-Israel protests around the world, and in the media (of course!), it’s easy to believe that “nobody” likes us. By “nobody,” I mean, of course, folks from the wide world. And even if they are willing to overlook our “crimes” in Gaza (no, of course I don’t mean that), they still don’t “get it” – they just can’t understand what we’re up against. 
So I wanted to share with you a message I got from a friend who’s in New York right now. There was a big pro-Israel rally this past Sunday, featuring speakers from the Jewish and general community. According to the message I got,
“The most powerful speaker at Sunday’s massive rally for Israel was Fred Teng, president of the Chinese Community Relations Council of NY. His words would have been exceptional even coming from an Israeli — and how much more striking for having come from the heart of a New Yorker and a member of the Chinese community.”
Suffice to say Mr. Teng “gets it.” He’s got Hamas’ number – comparing them to the gangs of big American cities who get their jollies running drive by shootings against innocent people. In the words of Mr. Teng,
“Enough is enough”
“These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like Drive-by Shootings. We have to put every gang member away for good, not just the ones that did the shooting. These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like a Fire in the Forest, You can’t STOP only half of the fire in the forest, and thinking you will be safe. If your house is next to the fire, you won’t think so. It is not the Qassam Rockets; it is the people behind the Qassam Rockets that we need to go after. This is an epidemic threat to the entire world.
“In the last 60 years, every gesture of peace by Israel only met with escalated violence. Every peace proposal, whether it is multi-lateral, bi-lateral, or uni-lateral was never honored by the terrorists. However, in this time of extreme difficulties, we shall not lose hope. We shall say yes to Peace. We shall say yes to Life. And we shall forever say yes to an eternal Israel Am Yisrael Chai.
Maybe someone should tell this guy we have an election coming up? Sounds like he’d make a good prime minister!
What’s a nice girl like you, doing in a suit that small
60 Minutes is running a feature about women helicopter pilots in the Israeli air force, called What’s a nice girl like you…
All good stuff of course. Equal opportunities etc. etc. An opportunity to see a different side of Israel.
In the teaser for the program, we find out about 21-year-old Shira, who is about to graduate her class and become a pilot for Cobra helicopters, the IAF’s most lethal helicopter.
There were 17 girls in her cadet class, and she’s the only one that made it through.
So what does the 60 Minutes reporter ask her? About her commitment, her dedication, about why the other girls dropped out, and she managed to stay the course, about sexism, glass ceilings, the missions, what it takes to be a helicopter pilot for the IAF?
No, of course not, he asks: “Where did they find a suit that small?”
Oh good grief. Check out the teaser here, and look out for the program.
What’s A Nice Girl Like You. . .
In the meantime, in honor of the intelligent, courageous and ceiling-breaking women of the IDF, here’s a few pictures from the IDf for you to enjoy.
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