Stones with a Human Heart
On Memorial Day in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, memorial ceremonies at cemeteries were prohibited. As a result, the “Stones with a Human Heart” initiative was launched by the organization “Nava,” led by Havi Arnfeld.
The initiative was created to foster empathy and solidarity with bereaved families who were unable to visit the graves of their loved ones, by placing decorated stones bearing messages of love and support on the graves of fallen IDF soldiers, on behalf of the families.
When the embassies learned of this, they approached the initiative’s organizers with a request to place stones on the graves of fallen IDF soldiers whose family members live in different countries—stones that would come directly from Jewish communities abroad.
Through a complex operation that required extensive effort, thousands of decorated pebbles arrived in Israel and were placed on the graves of the fallen.
The ability to visit a grave, spend a private moment with loved ones, and offer words or a prayer expresses a fundamental need of the relatives of the fallen or deceased, and is often a source of comfort and an outlet for deeply felt emotions.
The inability to reach the grave intensifies the pain.
