Mount Herzl Park

Recently we had the opportunity to visit Mount Herzl Park which is named after Binyamin Se'ev (Theodore) Herzl, visionary of the Jewish State.

This site has a national importance for Israel and the Jewish people. Important festivities take place which mark the conclusion of Memorial Day (May 12, 2016) for Israel's fallen soldiers and Israel's Independence Day.

Mount Herzl is also the resting place of great leaders of Israel such as their presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries.

Ophir, one of our professors, was our tour guide for the park. Photo below: A huge menorah stands at the entrance of the park and is lighted for special holidays.

When the park was first established in 1952, these trees were donated by visiting dignitaries. Photo: Soldiers at Herzl's tomb.

Herzl's tomb lies on the crest of the mountain range overlooking the Judean Hills on one side and both old and new Jerusalem on the other. It is customary for visitors to place a rock on tombstones when they visit. The tombstone is constructed of black marble with only the four Hebrew letters of Herzl's name engraved on it.

Benyamin Ze'ev (Theodore) Herzl was born in 1860 and in 1896 he published his book, The Jewish State, in which he presented his vision for the establishment of an independent state for Jewish people. He died at age 44 and was originally buried in Vienna. In his will, he requested to be buried along with members of his family in Israel following the establishment of a Jewish state. In 1949, his wishes were honored when his coffin was laid to rest in a special ceremony on Mount Herzl.

Photo:Benny, one of my students from the choir. He has an amazing tenor voice and a charming personality. The section of the park was for national leaders. The tombs are black or grey marble and uniform in shape.

Photo: Grave of former Prime Minister, Golda Meir.

Shimon Peres was the ninth President of Israel, serving from 2007 to 2014. Peres's political career spanned nearly 70 years as he served twice as the Prime Minister of Israel and twice as Interim Prime Minister and was a member of twelve cabinets. He died Sept. 28, 2016, at the age of 93 after suffering a stroke in Tel Aviv.

Peres was highly respected and even though he spoke Polish, French, English, Russian, Yiddish and Hebrew, he never lost his Polish accent. He was a poet and songwriter and some of his poems were recorded as songs in albums. He was brilliant and often quoted French literature, Chinese philosophy, and Hebrew prophets.

Photo: We visited Mount Herzl the week following Peres's interment and these were wreaths that had just been taken off his grave site.

Photo: Grave of Perez, former Israeli Prime Minister and President of Israel. President Obama said in a White House Statement, "There are few people who we share this world with who change the course of human history, not just through their role in human events, but because they expand our moral imagination and force us to expect more of ourselves. My friend Shimon was one of those people." President Obama also flew to Jerusalem to attend his funeral.

Photo: While we were standing at his grave, a young Jewish soldier came to pay tribute. She knelt down, paused for a few moments and thoughtfully placed a stone on his grave.

We somberly stood and watched and felt grateful to have also had the honor of placing our own stones on his grave. (I was bent down at the grave with my camera when the soldier came to pay respect and able to snap some shots discretely.)

Photo: Ribbons from each department of the government were draped over the grave. Visitors signed names on the rocks that they left. I love this tradition!

We stepped aside to allow this soldier to have a few moments to pay respect before we took our own photos. We wanted a photo so we could say we were there.

Photo: It was a privilege to see the grave of Peres but smiling for the photo seemed awkard as we were also there to pay respect. Some of our JC students also attended his viewing in Jerusalem prior his funeral.

Photo below: Fallen soldiers.

Memorial Day was May 10, 2016, and the day where people in Israel pay respect to fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.

Sirens could be heard throughout the city the night before and the country came to a standstill at 8 PM. People stopped their cars and stood silently for a minute or two in honor of those who died. It is the most somber of all the dates on the Israeli calendar. Radio and TV stations stop their local programming and documentaries are aired. Restaurants and places of entertainment also shut down. This past year, 28 Israelis and two Americans were killed but Israel also reported that about 200 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

Photo: Looking across from cemetery to the Holocaust Museum.