Quietest Rosh Hashana in Israel in Three Years Marred by Death of Two Soldiers

The quietest Rosh Hashana that Israel has had in three years was marred Friday by the first fatalities suffered by Israeli soldiers in the Suez Canal zone since the ceasefire went into effect Aug. 7. A military spokesman disclosed today that lieutenants Mordechai Segal. 22, of Kibbutz Amir and Michael Molitov. 23, of Haifa, were killed when their jeep hit a mine about two kilometers east of the waterway in the central sector of the canal zone. Military authorities are investigating to determine whether the mine was an old one or one that was planted after the truce began. On all other fronts guns were silent over the holidays and there were no reports of guerrilla activities. Many thousands of Israelis took advantage of the three-day holiday and exceptionally fine weather to drive to Galilee, the Golan Heights and the Beisan Valley. There were many worshippers at the Wailing Wall and synagogues in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were reported crowded. Hotels in the cities and in resort areas turned some of their public rooms into ad hoc synagogues to accommodate Israelis and tourists.

In East Jerusalem an estimated 20,000 Arabs mourning President Gamal Abdel Nasser, of Egypt, marched to the Mosque of Omar and an adjacent cemetery for memorial services. Israeli police were on hand in force but kept to the background. Authorities said the marchers observed exemplary decorum and no incidents occurred. However minor incidents were reported during marches of Christian Arab youths to memorial ceremonies in Nazareth and Acre. Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Itzhak Nissim reported that he had a letter from Rabbi David Isaac, of Leningrad expressing the hope that he and his wife would be able to go to Israel next spring, right after the Shevuot holiday. “Our prayers have not been answered yet and we are still here. Who knows when we will be able to join you?” the letter said. A spokesman for Rabbi Nissim’s office said today that the traditional New Year greeting from Moscow chief rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin had not arrived as of last night.