In the mystical city of Tzfat (Safed), teenagers are tending the graves of soldiers whose families are gone in a project called “Adopt the Unknown Soldier.”
The graves are those belonging to soldiers who fought in the 1948 War of Independence, and who no longer have loved ones to visit and care for them.
Local students from the Amit high school have begun to tend the unkempt grave sites, cleaning the tomb stones and trimming the grass ahead of the nation’s upcoming Memorial Day.
Student Daniel Maman explained, “I owe them so much. They fought so we could live here – this is the least we can do.”
There are numerous such grave sites around the country.
As the country prepares for Memorial Day, teachers have been given special curricula with which to discuss Israel’s wars, including in hareidi-religious institutions.
Among the topics covered are the experiences of the soldiers and their families – including those of the nation’s fallen heroes.