Rona Ramon to be posthumously awarded Israel Prize for education activism

Education Minister Naftali Bennett called Rona Ramon “a hero of Israel.”

By Algemeiner Staff

The late Rona Ramon, who passed away in December at the age of 54 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, will be posthumously awarded an Israel Prize this year for her education activism, it was announced on Tuesday.

Among other efforts, Ramon – who tragically lost her husband, Ilan, in the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and her son, Assaf, in a 2009 Israeli Air Force training accident – established the Ramon Foundation to promote youth interest in science and technology.

Ramon’s three surviving children – Tal, Yiftah, and Noa – said in a statement on Tuesday: “Our mother was able to take a life which was painful and turn it to a life-long mission that gives other people hope.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett called Ramon “a hero of Israel in terms of generosity and light.”