All year round coachloads of Israeli schoolchildren, soldiers, scouts and pensioners arrive to pay homage; it is an essential stop for TAGLIT groups (Birthright) and one of the few offficial locations for military ceremonies. In less than one hour they are coached in and coached out and are probably not aware that this is a university campus and that 2000 real people live here.
Every year sometime between mid-November and beginning of December the Prime minister, his cabinet, the chiefs of the army and police are helicoptered in for a ceremony to commemmorate B-G’s death day. Our village is drenched in symbolism, but for us visiting Ben Gurion’s grave is a short pleasant stroll along the cliff.
Ben Gurion’s burial site.
The Walk
From our house walk two hundred meters to the edge of the cliff (it is actually a steep slope), then pause to recline in the bench provided. Breath deeply.
The bench looking east.
Just behind the bench, you may wonder what this linear display of stones is: this is Ezra Orion‘s final work naturally orientated towards Hod Akev. Unfortunately these 6-10 ton rocks were upended for reasons of safety but I have hopes that they will soon be restored.
Ezra’s rocks
Continue walking along the cliff, until you reach the first leg of the future promenade that will run for five kilometers from the grave to Ben Gurion house in the kibbutz; this will be a thing to see.
The promenade
David and his wife Paula are buried side-by-side, the space is open to the public day and night, you might want to place a stone on their graves before you leave. There are three dates on the graves: two are the usual dates of birth and death, the third is the date they came to Eretz Israel; as requested by Ben Gurion.
The graves
On a clear day you can make out the red mountains of Jordan to the East
View from the grave site
To the south-west in the background of the picture, the road leading to Ein Avdat…
…from the grave site
…from the grave site
Follow the promenade to the parking area where the serpentine road starts its descent and then come back to the grave site through the beautifully maintained park which is generally full of ibex (the indigenous mountain goat)
The park leading to the graves
You can walk back to the house through the village. The whole loop could take you up to an hour.
