Jewish Ex-Servicemen and women attend Memorial Service in Jerusalem
08 February 2013
On an unseasonably warm morning on 7 February 2013, 14 British
veterans arrived at Mount Scopus Cemetery, Jerusalem.
The visitors were all members of the London-based 'Association
of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and women' (AJEX) and had come to Israel to
participate in the biennial Memorial Service in memory of fallen
comrades.
The ceremony was carried out in the presence of the British
Defence Attaché, Colonel Philip Stack MBE. Also present were Paul
Price, the CWGC Regional Supervisor, and Geoffrey Freeman, the
CWGC's International Internal Auditor who is based in Israel, as
well as local staff.
The veterans recited appropriate prayers and quotes from the
Bible including a memorial prayer which asks 'the Divine Presence
to grant perfect rest to all who bravely laid down their lives in
the service of the Crown'. This was followed by the
'Kaddish', part of the mourning ritual which is one of the most
important and central elements in the Jewish liturgy.
Following the Laying of the Wreath and One Minute Silence, the
service ended with a rousing rendition of the British National
Anthem.
At the conclusion, the veterans laid poppy markers at the graves
of fallen Jewish soldiers.