Yad Vashem
Yad VashemEsther Rubian, Flash 90

Some travelers might be attracted to the bright lights and beautiful beaches of the modern city of Tel-Aviv. But it is in Jerusalem that one can see a collection of historical sites with significance to the three major religions present in the city: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There are also many sites that serve as reminders of Israel’s modern history and the Jewish fight for the State of Israel.

Among Jerusalem’s holy Jewish and Muslim historic sites are the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the City of David, for example. Christian tourists visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Via Dolorosa as well.

If you really want to understand the country’s modern history and experience, you should take a flight to Israel and visit these four memorials:

Ammunition Hill

Ammunition Hill is the site of some of the 1967 Six Day War's bloodiest fighting. Known as “Givat Hatachmoshet” in Hebrew, it is located between the modern neighborhoods of Ramat Eshkol and French Hill.

Thirty-seven Israeli paratroopers were killed on Ammunition hill as they worked to oust entrenched Jordanian legionnaires in order to link central Jerusalem with the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus. Despite the casualties, the paratroopers were successful, and they played a key role in Israel’s victory to reunite Jerusalem.

British War Cemetery

More than 2,500 British soldiers are buried in the British War Cemetery, located on Mount Scopus, between the Regency hotel and Hadassah Medical Center.

The cemetery is a memorial to the British men who were killed in a fierce fight with the Ottoman Empire over the city of Jerusalem between 1916 and 1917. It also serves as a memorial to the 3,300 soldiers who died during this campaign but never received a proper burial.

Mount Herzl

Mount Herzl is the burial site for some of Israel and the Jewish people’s most important influencers - Zionists, politicians and other people who helped develop and fight for the State of Israel. It is named for Binyamin Ze'ev (Theodor) Herzl, the visionary of the Jewish state.

Mount Herzl also serves as the Israel Defense Forces' official military cemetery; soldiers who died in the line of duty are buried on Mount Herzl. In the cemetery there is the “Victims of Acts of Terror Memorial,” the main memorial for all victims of terrorism in Israel from 1851 until today. This memorial was established in 1997.

Yad Vashem

Just up the road from Mount Herzl is Yad Vashem: The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. This national Holocaust museum and memorial captures the raw and painful history of the Jews during World War II. The museum experience includes testimonies, diaries, artifacts and other documentation. The story of the Holocaust is told from a Jewish lens but in a universal language.