Israel’s 9/11 Memorial
September 10th 2013
At the western entrance to Jerusalem, among the forests of the Ramot neighborhood in Arazim Park, rises a 30-foot-high American flag made of bronze. Dedicated in November, 2009, this memorial to the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks is the first memorial outside of New York to list the names of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed on that day, along with their countries of origin. There are nearly 100 countries represented among the victims, including five Israeli citizens.
The bronze flag that forms the core of the memorial sits on a pillar made from a metal beam that came from the remains of the World Trade Center. It is inscribed with these words in English and Hebrew: “This metal piece, like the entire monument, is a manifestation of the special relationship between New York and Jerusalem.”
The 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza, intended to be a diplomatic stop for visiting prime ministers and ambassadors, is a circular plaza surrounding the bronze sculpture. This plaza, a space large enough to comfortably hold 300 people, was designed to echo the shape of the Pentagon. It also has an indentation in the floor of the plaza that represents the rut created in the land where one of the planes crashed in rural Pennsylvania. In addition, the bronze sculpture of the American flag transitions into flames, depicting the flames that engulfed the Twin Towers.
The seating is amphitheater style and the location of the memorial amid the Jerusalem forest is fittingly contemplative. While official ceremonies are occasionally held here, the handicapped-accessible site is free and open to tourists and locals. Israeli school children often visit the site on official school trips to learn more about the terrorist tragedy that took place on American soil.
The Jewish National Fund/Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael hired Israeli sculptor Eliezer Weishoff to design and create the memorial. The site was built with donations JNF/KKL raised from American philanthropists.
