The Garden of the Missing in Action ( he, גן הנעדרים, Gan HaNe'edarim, lit=Garden of the Missing) is a commemorative garden on
Mount Herzl
Mount Herzl ( he, הַר הֶרְצְל ''Har Hertsl''), also ''Har ha-Zikaron'' ( lit. "Mount of Remembrance"), is the site of Israel's national cemetery and other memorial and educational facilities, found on the west side of Jerusalem beside ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
dedicated to
Israeli MIAs
Israeli MIA are members of the Israel Defense Forces who are missing in action. Despite efforts to locate them and bring them home, their whereabouts remain unknown. Every year, a state ceremony is held at Mount Herzl, Israel's military cemeter ...
.
History
The garden memorializes fighters and officers of the
Israel Defense Forces and
Land of Israel MIAs starting from 1914, whose resting place is unknown. The garden also contains memorials to those lost aboard the submarine and the 23 Palmach commandoes lost in
Operation Boatswain
Operation Boatswain was the first of the operational missions carried out by the Palmach as part of the cooperation between the Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine and the British during World War II. The mission to sabotage oil refineries in Tr ...
.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, 179 Israeli soldiers have been declared missing in action, mainly from the
1948 Arab–Israeli War.
The establishment of the Garden of the Missing was initiated by Moshe Oren, head of the Ministry of Defense Commemoration Division in 2003. It was dedicated in February 2004 in a ceremony attended by army chiefs, Israeli Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz
Shaul Mofaz ( he, שאול מופז; 4 November 1948) is a retired Israeli military officer and politician. He joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1966 and served in the Paratroopers Brigade. He fought in the Six-Day War, Yom Kippur War, 1982 Le ...
, and members of the
Jerusalem Municipality
The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem.
History
British Mandate ...
.
Traditions
An annual memorial service for the missing soldiers of Israel takes place in the garden's main plaza on the
Seventh of Adar, the day in the Hebrew calendar which marks the traditional date of the death of
Moses, whose grave, according to the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
, is known only to God.
According to the rabbis, ransoming of captives is closely tied to the commandment of saving a life, and is thereby supremely important in Jewish law. Jewish law obligates searching for those who are missing in action even if there is only a remote chance of finding the person. The policy of the
Israel Defense Forces is never to leave a soldier behind.
See also
*
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...
References
External links
Official web site(in Hebrew)
by the
Israel Postal Company
Israeli Soldiers "Missing in Action"
{{Mount Herzl, state=autocollapse
Military monuments and memorials in Israel
Tombs of Unknown Soldiers
Monuments and memorials in Mount Herzl
Jewish cemeteries in Jerusalem
2004 establishments in Israel
Cemeteries established in the 2000s