Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin expressed their condolences over the passing Saturday of George H. W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States.

“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,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wrote in a statement, adding that Bush’s wise leadership at the end of the Cold War “helped steer the world to a peaceful transition and the spread of democracy.”

“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 added.

President Rivlin called Bush “an American hero who fought in the killing fields of the Second World War, who knew to distinguish between good and evil and how to build strong regional coalitions against cruel tyrants.

“He led his country with skill and wisdom at the end of the Cold War and under his leadership our strategic relationship evolved into the strongest of alliances. The Jewish people will always remember his help in bringing the Jews of Ethiopia to Israel and his determination to ensure the Arab world recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security,” Rivlin continued. “Personally and on behalf of the people of Israel, my deepest condolences to President George W Bush, a true friend of Israel, to Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Doro and their families. May his memory be for a blessing.”