Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu penned a letter to the people of the State of Israel, thanking them for coming to console him after the death of his father.

The letter, written by the Prime Minister and posted on his Facebook page, expressed gratitude to the thousands of Israelis who paid respects at the shiva house of his father, Dr. Benzion Netanyahu, who passed away on April 30 at the age of 102.

“I’d like to thank from the depths of my heart the many thousands of you who came to my father’s house to give your condolences to my family and me, and to the tens of thousands who sent messages of comfort and support ,” the letter said.

“You touched my heart in my time of grief,” he wrote. “From Jerusalem, I send my thanks to all of you.”

Benzion Netanyahu was laid to rest in Jerusalem’s Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. His sons Benjamin and Ido will conclude the shiva seven-day mourning period on Sunday morning. His son Yoni was killed in 1976 during the famed raid on Entebbe, Uganda, to free a group of Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu was an expert in Medieval Jewish history, as well as an ardent Zionist. In his youth, he worked for Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and raised his sons to believe in the importance of maintaining Jewish control of the land of Israel. (© 2012 JewishPress. 05/06/12)