On behalf of the Israel Action Committee and the Penn State community, we send our sincere condolences to the families of the American astronauts and to the Ramon family. We are all mourning with the people of the United States and the people of the State of Israel over the loss of seven national heroes who gave their lives in the space shuttle Columbia for the advancement of humankind in space.

We will always remember Ilan Ramon, William McCool, David Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla and Michael Anderson. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, "Times such as these strengthen the Israeli and American peoples' common fate, identity and values, and shared vision. Ilan Ramon and his comrades aboard the space shuttle fell on the altar of science, progress and our common aspiration for a better life on this planet."