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By Itzhak Rabihiya

Jerusalem ceremony at Living Memorial Monument attended by airline pilots, police, and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman

Diplomats and Israeli families who lost loved ones on 9/11 were joined Wednesday in Jerusalem by United Airlines pilots, firefighters and police officers to mark the 18th anniversary of the terror attacks.

The annual ceremony led by the Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), Jewish National Fund-USA and the US Embassy in Israel is held at the 9/11 Living Memorial Monument in the capital.

Among those on hand for the ceremony were the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and the US secretary of veterans affairs, Robert Wilkie.

The 30-foot-high bronze sculpture is the only monument outside of the United States to include all the names of the 9/11 victims. It portrays the American flag folded into the shape of a memorial flame. A metal shard from the ruins of the Twin Towers is incorporated into the base of the monument.

On Tuesday evening, a ceremony in Jerusalem inaugurated the “Tribute in Light,” in which two beams of light were ignited that stretched nearly 1,000 feet above the city — similar to the Ground Zero tribute in New York.

“We stood together in solidarity on 9/11 and we knew that terrorism could not defeat us,” Friedman said at the ceremony. “Standing here today at this beautiful memorial, we all recall that terrible day in 2001 and we honor the memory of the victims. In their honor, let us also reaffirm our sense of solidarity and commitment to our most cherished values. That will be the lasting legacy of 9/11.”

As the world commemorated Eighteen years since the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, the Keren Kayemet LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF) and the US Embassy in Israel held their annual memorial ceremony to honor those who perished. The 9/11 Living Memorial Monument is the only one outside of the United States to include all the names of the 9/11 victims, and reflects the shared values between Israel, the United States and the entire free world for peace and unity, and against terror.

Attending the ceremony were US Ambassador to Israel, H.E. David Friedman; Secretary of Veterans Affairs Mr. Robert Wilkie; KKL-JNF Vice Chairman, Mr. Yair Lootsteen; JNF-USA Chief Israel Officer, Mr. Eric Michaelson, as well as other distinguished guests.

Various delegations arrived from the United States and Israel for the ceremony, including United Airlines pilots, firefighters and police officers, and representatives from JNF-USA and Nefesh B’Nefesh, along with Israeli families who lost loved ones in the attack, ambassadors and other diplomats.

The 9/11 Living Memorial was established in 2009 by KKL-JNF and JNF-USA. The impressive thirty-foot-high bronze sculpture was created by the Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff and KKL-JNFs' landscape architect Yechiel Cohen. It portrays the American flag folded into the shape of a memorial flame; a metal shard from the ruins of the Twin Towers is incorporated into the base of the monument, which overlooks a magnificent vista of the Jerusalem Hills and the Arazim Valley.

 (photo credit: Yossi Zamir)