The final journey was perhaps a fitting one for Israel's last great soldier-statesman. On the floor of an open-backed military truck, Ariel Sharon's coffin was brought up the hill overlooking his ranch on the edge of the Negev desert, to be placed in the ground next to his beloved late wife. The eight military generals first hoisted the flag-draped casket on to their shoulders with some difficulty, then manoeuvred it into the grave. Immediately they set to work emptying bags of soil into the cavity until the coffin containing the remains of one of the most divisive figures in Israel's history disappeared from view. This was the family's moment, following a formal state memorial ceremony at the Knesset in Jerusalem, and a military service at an army base in Latrun. But not all members of the family were admitted to the seated VIP area on the hill. Sharon's cousin, Slava Shnerov, 71, who had played with "Arik" as a child and last saw him comatose in a hospital bed eight years ago, had not been included on the list of special guests. "No one informed me," she said, without bitterness. "This is a sad day for Israel, not just the family." Read more http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/ariel-sharon-family-ceremony-state-funeral
