Family members who came to visit the graves of loved ones at Mount Herzl cemetery's newest grounds for fallen soldiers were denied access on Israel's Memorial Day because of a fireworks display that was set up for Independence Day, Army Radio reported on Thursday. The cemetery at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem which houses the graves of prominent politicians, including former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and soldiers such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's brother Yoni Netanyahu, who died in service recently opened new grounds where soldiers who perished in the last decade are buried. According to the report, a guard at the new grounds refused entry to some mourners who arrived to visit their family members' graves because fireworks for the Independence Day torch lighting ceremony were placed adjacent to the graves and thus the area was cordoned off. Jerusalem police said they would pass the family members' complaint on to the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, which organized the event, and the Defense Ministry department for memorializing fallen soldiers, to make sure that the incident would not recur next year.
Memorial Day leads directly into Independence Day, which begins at 8 p.m. the day Israel memorializes its fallen soldiers and terrorist victims.
Family members argued with the security guard for nearly 1½ hours before he allowed them to enter, for three minutes. A seemingly frazzled guard can be heard saying in an audio from the scene of the argument, "You have three minutes ... I don't want to come looking for you."
