JERUSALEM (JTA) — A memorial service for Shimon Peres marking the 30-day mourning period, or shloshim, will include the unveiling of the former Israeli president’s tombstone.
The ceremony is scheduled for Friday at the Great Leaders of the Nation’s plot at Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery, in Jerusalem.
At his family’s request, the tombstone will be engraved with a biblical verse; a quote from David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, and a selection from a Chaim Nahman Bialik poem.
The biblical quote comes from Isaiah 2: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Describing the spiritual nature of Israel, the Ben-Gurion quote reads: “The continued spiritual nature and inner strength of Israel in the future will be the main factor in maintaining our security and international position.”
The poem selection comes from “After My Death” and says: “One more melody did he have, and now that song is forever lost, forever lost.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and Peres’ grandchildren will speak at the ceremony.
Peres died on Sept. 28, two weeks after suffering a massive stroke. He retired as president in 2014 after more than half a century in public life, including a stint as prime minister, and won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.
