New Years Eve in Jerusalem

We woke up and walked over to Mount Herzl, which is Israel’s national cemetery for the country’s fallen leaders as well as soldiers who have passed away during Israel’s wars. It is a beautiful cemetery, full of trees and other vegetation surrounding and covering the graves, creating an incredible juxtaposition of life and death. We paused at certain gravesites to pay respects to soldiers who were particularly interesting or famous and to hear their stories. Our first stop was Ivan’s friend that was in the K-9 unit with him in the Army. Next we stopped at a grave to learn about a soldier who heroically jumped on a grenade to protect his fellow soldiers from the blast. We also saw the grave of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995 by a man upset with Rabin’s efforts for peace with surrounding countries. Lastly, at the top of the mount on which the cemetery was built, we visited the grave of Theodore Herzl, a man who was instrumental in the creation of the Jewish state. Before we left the cemetery, we sat down to discuss the issue of anti-Semitism which we face in our own lives.

            After breaking for lunch, we walked to Yad Vashem, Israel’s museum for the Holocaust. The museum’s architecture was incredible, starting with a dark, closed triangular space, gradually transitioning into smaller rooms, moving uphill, and heading towards the natural light at the end of the museum. The museum focused on telling the personal stories of the Holocaust’s victims, to give the tragedy a personal feel for those learning its history. There was even a separate memorial outside the museum that spoke all the names of all the children who were victims of the Holocaust. We ended by watching a documentary that featured a Greek man telling his personal story of survival in the Holocaust.

            We then took a short break for dinner and to pack for the next day’s excursion to the desert before visiting the Maale Film School, the world’s only Jewish film school. We watched two short Jewish films about issues that many Israelis and other Jews struggle with in the life, and we had the opportunity to talk with the producer of one of the films. Finally, we celebrated the New Year out on the town at a pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, giving each of us a New Year’s Eve we’ll be sure to remember for the rest of our lives.

~Louis Glazer and Lesley Read

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