PM to attend Margaret Thatcher's funeral in London

The former British prime minister's family invited Netanyahu to attend the funeral of Israel's staunch ally.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Shimon Peres and Margaret Thatcher 370 (photo credit: Courtesy The President's Residence )
Shimon Peres and Margaret Thatcher 370
(photo credit: Courtesy The President's Residence )
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to fly to London to attend the funeral of his friend and the nation’s staunch ally, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, on April 17. Thatcher’s family invited Netanyahu to the funeral, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Long before he entered politics, Netanyahu admired Thatcher, particularly her economic vision for Great Britain that he felt could be applicable to Israel. She sent him a handwritten note when he lost the prime minister’s race in 1999 and he traveled to London to visit her in 2000, the Prime Minister’s Office said. Its spokesman said Netanyahu viewed Thatcher as a “woman of valor.”
“The prime minister wants to pay his respect because she was a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. He had the utmost respect for her as a strong political leader and a leader of vision,” the office said.