Israel Rokach, long-time Mayor of Tel Aviv and Israel General Zionist party leader, was buried today in the old Tel Aviv cemetery beside his father, Shimon Rokach, The Knesset presidium decided to hold funeral services today to enable his brother, Yiozhak Rokach of the Citrus Marketing Board, to return to Israel for the final rites. Flags on municipal buildings and at the Interior Ministry, which he had served as Minister from 1953 to 1955, were flown at half-mast.
Prime Minister David Ben Gurion sent a letter to the family of the late leader, who died Sunday night at the age of 62 after a heart attack. The Prime Minister wrote that “this loss is shared by all Israelis of all sections who knew him and his well-mannered treatment and approach to everyone. He was one of the builders of the first Jewish city and one of the ablest representatives in the Knesset.” Mr. Rokach had been Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.