Unless you are with a private tour guide in Israel, you might not get to visit Mount Herzl. The mount is in Jerusalem and is named after Theodor Herzl, a visionary of the Jewish State. On the western slope is Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum and on the northern slope is Israel’s national cemetery. It is the final resting place of many of the country’s greatest leaders and cultural figures.
But there is much more to see and learn on Mt. Herzl if you have the right Israeli tour guide. The cemetery is spread over 25 acres and the graves are surrounded by landscaped gardens and abundant greenery.
Herzl’s Tomb
Binyamin Ze’ev (Theodor) Herzl is buried on the crest of the mount. Several of his family embers are buried alongside Herzl’s tomb of black granite. This is the site of a moving ceremony on Remembrance Day when fallen soldiers are honored. Your guide can tell you how Herzl’s remains were brought from Vienna in 1949 to be buried here in Jerusalem.
Graves Stones on Mt. Herzl
All of the grave sites are the same, no matter whether the deceased was a general or a foot soldier. This signifies the equal importance of each person buried here. There are approximately 3,400 graves of fallen soldiers on Mt. Herzl.
Graves of Israel’s Leaders
Among the prime ministers buries on Mt. Herzl there is Golda Meir, Yitzhak Shamir, Levi Eshkol, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin. Israeli presidents buried here include Chaim Herzog.
SS Erinpura Memorial
When the SS Erinpura sank during World War II, 140 Jewish soldiers died. A special memorial pool in the shape of a ship commemorates these men. The 140 names are inscribed on the floor of the pool.
Mt Herzl Memorials
There are several memorials in the cemetery including the Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial; the Jewish Underground Fighters Memorial, and the Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants Memorial. There is a memorial for the last of kin of Holocaust survivors, and a garden dedicated to soldiers missing in action. The cemetery has a section for IDF soldiers of different religions including Druze, Christians, and Muslims.
