An evening of community and Selichot prayers ahead of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) was held Thursday night at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, with dozens of people in attendance.
The gathering took place near the graves of Master Sgt. (res.) Dov Moshe (Dovy) Kogen, a fighter in the IDF's Shaldag Unit, and Capt. Yair Yaakov Shushan, a team commander in the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit.
Both soldiers, residents of Ma'alot, fell in battle in the Gaza Strip.
Participants gathered beside the soldiers' graves for an evening combining remembrance, song and prayer, singing stirring melodies at the site.
The participants then proceeded to Section 18A of the cemetery, where Selichot prayers were recited together with bereaved families, friends and young people who had traveled from Ma'alot.