Next week, the State of Israel is expected to mark two decades since the Columbia shuttle disaster, in which the late Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon was killed in February 2003. In the meantime,
the Israeli social activist who lives in Miami, Joe Zebuloni, published a post on his Facebook page this morning (Thursday) that caused a stir throughout the network.
According to Zebuloni, a ceremony is expected to take place in the US this coming Sunday in memory of those who perished in the ferry disaster. The ceremony is expected to take place for the twentieth year, when according to the post he published, this year it was specifically moved to a Sunday in order to allow the participation of the representative of the State of Israel in the event. However, according to the post, there is no No possibility of the arrival of such a representative, government or consular.
Budgetary distress when arriving at the ceremony.
Ilan Ramon and his colleagues on the Columbia ferry who perished in the disaster (archive), photo: AP
"This year's ceremony, which will mark the 20th anniversary of the disaster, was moved from Saturday to Sunday specifically so that representatives of Israel and the Jewish community could attend, only that I learned today that no official representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the consulate in Miami will attend the ceremony," Zabuloni wrote.
"If that's not enough to shock you, I also learned that in previous years no representative from the consulate came to that ceremony because it was held on Saturday. I called the consul and he confirmed that he was not coming, and also told me that the consulate did not have a budget. The travel distance from Miami to the ceremony is about two and a half hours by car And the consulate has no budget."
Tests conducted by the consulate in Miami revealed that the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency do not know the event in question, nor the body that organizes it.
Also, contrary to Zebuloni's claim, this is not a state or official event.
However, following "Israel Hayom"'s request, another inspection will be conducted in the morning in Miami and a final decision will be made.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the budget crisis is so high that even trips to such distances are not always approved.
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