“It is with a deep sense of sadness that we learned of the passing of Sheldon Adelson and express the condolences of the International Committee for Har Hazeisim (ICHH) to Dr. Miriam Adelson and the entire family,” said Menachem and AvrohomLubinsky, the co-chair of the ICHH. “As one of the most distinguished and most prominent Jewish philanthropist and activist of our generation, the Adelson’s will go down in history as heroes for Jewish and Israeli causes. The list of their support is endless and unprecedented.”
The late Mr. Adelson was buried on Friday on Har Hazeisim in a section that includes the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his wife Aliza, Jewish resistance fighters Moshe Barzani and Meir Feinstein (who blew themselves up rather than face a British firing squad), Philanthropist Joseph S. and Caroline Gruss and many tzaddikim of note. “It is fitting that the late noble Sheldon Adelson is buried on Har Hazeisim which gives our committee even greater motivation to secure and protect the holiest Jewish cemetery with its 150,000 Jews dating back to the nevi’im.
Shalom Lerner, the Executive Director of the ICHH called on the Israeli Government to restore 20,000 graves destroyed during the Jordanian rule and to commence with the construction of the Visitor Educational Center, together with the ICHH, on a site that is only feet from the burial place of the late philanthropic giant Sheldon Adelson. “Everything we invested over the last decade, including fencing, surveillance cameras, a police station, infrastructure, and other security measures, must be upgraded in honor of this late remarkable philanthropist who did so much for Israel’s security and the Jewish people in general.”
“This id the time to secure Har Hazeisim for generations to come and never to return to the days of violence and abuse of only several years ago,” said the statement by the Lubinsky brothers. The burial of Mr. Adelson has given us a new sense of urgency that we do our share for a man who did so much for our generation. We wish to assure Mrs. Adelson and the entire family that we will step up our efforts, including involving the Knesset Caucus on Har Hazeisim, in upgrading security on the hallowed mountain, which is directly across from the MakomHamikdash.”
In addition to Mr. Adelson, there were many notable burials on Har Hazeisim during the last few months, including some who were victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. On average there are approximately 400 burials a year in the 3,000-year-old cemetery.
