Kiryat Anavim Military Cemetery, Military cemetery and cenotaph in Kiryat Anavim, Israel.
Kiryat Anavim Military Cemetery is a military burial ground in Kiryat Anavim, Israel, set in a valley surrounded by hills and trees. The graves are arranged in neat rows along maintained paths, and the entrance is marked by a fig tree on the right side.
The cemetery was founded in 1922 by the Kiryat Anavim group, and pioneers, members and their children were buried here from its early years. From 1947 to 1948 it received Haganah and Palmach fighters killed in the battles to open the road to Jerusalem, as well as kibbutz members and their sons who fell in military service and Israel's wars.
The monument at the cemetery's northern end is a tower shaped like a rifle, designed by artist Menahem Shemi and unveiled in 1951. Its sides carry the Palmach emblem and the names of the Harel Brigade's operations. Shemi's son Aharon (Jimmy), a Harel fighter killed at the Joint Position, is buried here; the father treated the monument as fulfilling his son's wish.
The site is easy to reach on foot and is best visited in dry weather, as the paths can become slippery after rain. Respectful clothing is recommended, as this is an active place of mourning and remembrance.
The monument at the cemetery's northern end was designed by Menahem Shemi, whose son Aharon (Jimmy), a Harel Brigade fighter, was killed at the Joint Outpost and is buried here. Shemi treated the commission as his son's testament, after a comrade reported Jimmy had meant to ask him to build a memorial. It was inaugurated in 1951.
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