Like this:

One afternoon in Jerusalem as we approached a museum on foot which we had planned to visit, streams of people were pouring down a hillside path next to us. I remembered my guide book had said that the museum that we were about to visit was next to the Israeli Military Cemetery.  I recalled reading the morning’s newspaper headline story about two Israeli soldiers who had been killed in action on the Gaza border over the weekend and surmised that this was their funeral service.  

We walked through the crowds up a winding path lined with lush foliage. The bright sunlight glanced through the trees as if to challenge the sorrow that was to greet us at the top of the hill.

Here we found hundreds of well-wishers of all ages. The families of the two fallen soldiers who were seated on the ground against a high rock wall were almost hidden from view by the crowds that engulfed them. People were perched in trees and standing on top of the rock wall above the mourners. Most men were wearing a “kippah” (traditional Jewish scullcap). Some were praying in a synagogue a few meters from the rock wall.  Some females in military uniform were greeted by friends with a heartfelt hug. Periodically the sound of sobbing rose above the low hum of voices.

Every couple of months a tragedy like this occurs as the Palestinian conflict continues, we were told.

Shalom

Merrilee

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