This week Israel saw its first winter rainstorm as wind and rain pummeled many parts of the country on Monday. The storm did some damage in various places, one of which was the Har HaMenuchos Cemetery in Jerusalem where a small retaining wall collapsed on the face of the mountain.

Rains also caused slides and drifts of stones and dirt from various burial plots to other areas of the mountain.

Cemeteries Council Director Rabbi Tzuriel Krispel arrived in the capital and updated Jerusalem Municipality officials with regard to the damage caused.

Maintenance crews have already begun to reinforce the wall and are hoping to finish restoring it in the coming days.

The manager of the western part of the city, Sasson Shavu together with municipal employees arrived to clear the stones and dirt that swept across various sections of the mountain following the rains.

In the last year, a lot of infrastructure work has been carried out on the roads that lead up to Har Hamenuchos in an effort to make the roads and the mountain more accessible. A new access road is being paved and improvements are being made to sidewalks and the parking infrastructure. Additionally, sheds are being built so that families may hold memorial ceremonies on the mountain itself.

The director of the Department of Religious Affairs at the Jerusalem Municipality, Rabbi Yitzchak Hanau, said, “We invest a lot of resources to preserve the honor of the deceased and the infrastructure on the mountain both in wintertime and summertime so that the people of Israel can ascend and pray on the tombs of the righteous and loved ones.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)