Shimon Peres remembered in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - As flags flew at half staff in Jerusalem Friday for the funeral of Israel's ninth president Shimon Peres, American flags also were lowered in the United States at federal buildings, including the federal courthouse in San Francisco.
"I know a lot of people who are mourning today in Israel, and I know that San Francisco has shown me that they're mourning with us. And I'm thankful to this community for doing that," said Consul General Dr. Andy David of the Consulate of Israel in San Francisco.
The consul general reflected on his many meetings with Shimon Peres including the most recent visit to Israel with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.
Dr. David said Mr. Peres was always a man who looked to the future, taking an interest in nanotechnology, cybersecurity, and biotechnology as he entered his 90's.
"Mr. Peres was here in 2012 and he met with Mark Zuckerberg, He met with Sergey Brin, He met at Salesforce with Marc Benioff," Dr. David said.
During that same trip, Mr. Peres also visited Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco and gave a speech to an overflow crowd.
"He stood right here and he spoke," said Congregation Emanu-El Rabbi Syndey Mintz, "He was incredibly charming , intelligent, passionate and compassionate."
She says she was inspired by Peres and his determination to keep working for peace, long after the historic 1993 Oslo peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, that led to a Nobel Prize shared with Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a year later.
"At 90-years-old, not only was he not retired, he didn't seem tired. It seemed like he was still filled with a passion for the work that carried him up to that point," Rabbi Mintz said.
In Jerusalem Friday, long lines of mourners filed past the flag-draped coffin in a plaza outside Israel's parliament building.
Former President Bill Clinton arrived and paid his respects, as President Obama boarded a plane for Israel to attend the funeral along with hundreds of other world leaders. Peres had critics during his lifetime, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was among the dignitaries who planned to attend the funeral.
A memorial service is being planned in San Francisco for late October or early November following the Jewish holy month.
"The memorial we are planning here will be a memorial to his life and to his tikvah, his dreams, his hopes," said Rabbi Mintz, "To be here in support of not just his past, but the future that's ahead because of him."
The Consulate of Israel will have a condolence book for the public at their San Francisco office at 456 Montgomery Street From Friday, Sep. 30 from 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 5 and Thursday, Oct. 6.
California's U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is listed as part of the U.S. delegation attending the funeral in Israel.