Eliezer Kaplan, Israel’s first Finance Minister and Deputy Premier, who died in a Genoe hospital Sunday morning at the age of 61, was laid to rest today in the cemetery atop Mt. Herzl here.
Thousands of residents of Jerusalem and Israelis from all parts of the country paid their last respects to the architect of Israel’s financial structure as Mr. Kaplan’s coffin was borne through Jerusalem’s main streets to the cemetery. The funeral began at 5 P.M. when a special police detachment moved the coffin from the Premier’s Office to a hearse which was draped in black. The hearse was escorted by units of the Israel Army, Air Force and Navy.
The two-mile-long procession was headed by members of the Kaplan family, members of the Cabinet and of Parliament. When it entered the cemetery, adjoining the national military cemetery, thousands of Jews followed and slowly filled the burial area and the surrounding slopes. No eulogies were delivered and a cantor’s simple chanting of the Psalms was heard as the coffin was lowered into a grave hewed out of solid rock. A national flag was then spread on the coffin.
Mrs. Golda Myerson, Minister of Labor, and for many years a friend and co-worker of Mr. Kaplan in the Israel labor movement, the Jewish Agency and, finally, in the government, almost collapsed during the services. She was given first aid treatment and was comforted by Ministers Dov Joseph and Moshe Sharett.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
