Yad Kennedy, Monument and cenotaph in Jerusalem Hills, Israel
Yad Kennedy is a 60-foot (18 m) concrete memorial in the Jerusalem hills near Aminadav, shaped like the stump of a felled tree. Its shell is formed by 51 fluted concrete columns, one for each U.S. state plus Washington, D.C., separated by slim glass panels and bearing the state emblems. A recessed doorway with a dark glass panel and the inscription "Yad Kennedy" leads inside, where a bronze relief of Kennedy surrounds an eternal flame. The base measures about 250 feet in circumference.
Max Bressler, then president of the American Jewish National Fund, proposed the memorial in 1964, and American Jewish communities funded its construction. It was dedicated on 4 July 1966 before nearly 2,000 people, among them Chief Justice Earl Warren, who had chaired the commission investigating the assassination, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol and Mayor Teddy Kollek. Architect David Resnick designed the monument, with Yedidya Eisenshtat of the Jewish National Fund managing the plan.
The name Yad comes from Isaiah 56:5, where God promises a "memorial and a name" within his house; the same word appears in Yad Vashem. The plaza around the monument, about 1,500 square metres, hosts memorial ceremonies and events marking friendship between Israel and the United States. The site is managed by the Jewish National Fund, which also runs the surrounding Aminadav Forest.
The site sits in the hills outside Jerusalem and is best reached by car on well-marked roads near Moshav Aminadav. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes since the terrain is hilly and pathways vary in condition.
The memorial stands on the highest of the Jerusalem hills at 825 metres, and on a clear day the Mediterranean Sea is visible 64 kilometres away toward Tel Aviv. The site also overlooks the historic stronghold of Betar, last stand of Simon Bar Kochba's revolt against Rome in 132–135 CE.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,484 contributors worldwide.