From Zemun to Mount Herzl: The final journey of the state visionary's grandparents | Avivit Bar-Ilan

An extraordinary diplomatic operation to bring the remains of Shimon and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of the state visionary, from the Jewish cemetery in Zemun, Serbia, to a state burial at Mount Herzl. The operation, led by an Israeli diplomat, included excavation, a Serbian state ceremony, and an El Al flight, closing a historical circle of over a hundred years.

An extraordinary diplomatic operation brought the remains of Shimon and Rivka Herzl, the grandparents of the state visionary Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl, from the Jewish cemetery in Zemun, Serbia, to a state burial at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The operation, described by an Israeli diplomat as a mission that no cadet course prepared her for, was conducted in cooperation with the Jewish community in Zemun, the World Zionist Organization, ZAKA, and the Serbian Foreign Ministry. After excavating the graves and locating the bones, a state farewell ceremony was held at the airport in Serbia with the participation of Foreign Minister Marko Đurić, an honor guard, and representatives of the Jewish community. The coffins were loaded onto an El Al flight to Israel. The ceremony closed a historical circle of over a hundred years since their burial in Zemun, connecting the roots of the Herzl family in the Serbian town, where Rabbi Yehuda Alkalai, a forerunner of Zionism, operated, with Jerusalem. The diplomat quoted Herzl: "If you will it, it is no dream."