The Times of Israel reports: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday hailed George H.W. Bush for his efforts to boost Israeli security and for helping Jews immigrate from the Soviet Union, following the death of the 41st president of the United States.

“The people of Israel will always remember his commitment to Israel’s security, his important contribution to the liberation of Soviet Jewry and his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East at the Madrid Conference,” Netanyahu said in a statement after the end of the Jewish sabbath.

On behalf of the people of Israel, I send heartfelt condolences to the Bush family and the American people on the passing of a great American patriot, President George H.W. Bush. — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 1, 2018

The people of Israel will always remember his commitment to Israel’s security, his important contribution to the liberation of Soviet Jewry, and his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East at the Madrid Conference. — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 1, 2018

Netanyahu also remembered Bush as a “great American patriot” and praised his “wise leadership” at the end of the Cold War, which “helped steer the world to a peaceful transition and the spread of democracy.”

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