Three years ago, a memorial for 9/11 was inaugurated in Israel outside of Jerusalem. The 9/11 Living Memorial is a billowing American flag, partly surrounded on its circular plaza by the names of the more than 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
The waving flag is meant to resemble an eternal flame.
Enclosed in the base is a piece of a beam from one of the destroyed buildings, reddish iron a couple of feet long, behind a piece of glass. Today, the U.S. ambassador will attend a memorial ceremony.
When I visited Israel in January, our guide said the memorial still hadn't been opened officially to the public because the road in hadn't been finished. The people in our group were the only ones there.
There are only two places in the world where you can find the names of all 3,000 people, he said. Outside Jerusalem and in New York.
This place is quite unlike the heart of New York City where the attacks took place. The memorial is surrounded by scrub, rock and cacti with views of Jerusalem on one side and the Palestinian town of Ramallah in the West Bank on the other. In the distance is a hilltop cemetery.
Located off a highway, outside the urban area, it may be a difficult place to reach. But I'm sure that for those who lost loved ones or know someone who did, this place might provide another grain of solace. Another place to reflect. And a concrete example of another country's compassion for such a great loss.
HOW AWESOME IS THAT, ONE OF OUR BEST ALLIES ISRAEL
TO HAVE ENOUGH COMPASSION TO BUILD A MEMORIAL FOR THE U.S. IN ISRAEL ABOUT 9-11. I DON`T KNOW ABOUT YOU BUT THAT IS AWESOME.
Posted by: Dickie Handley | September 11, 2013 at 10:13 PM
Dickie - it's pretty awesome indeed.
Posted by: Ellen | September 12, 2013 at 03:20 PM