Yad Kennedy located in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 36,200 people.The name of the regional council stems from the fact that its territory was part of the land allotted to the Tribe of Judah, according to the Bible.-Places and...

 near Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, is a memorial to John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, who was assassinated in 1963.

The memorial, 60 feet high, is shaped like a felled tree trunk, symbolizing a life cut short. Inside is a bust of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, with an eternal flame

Eternal flame

An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....

 burning in the center. It is encircled by 51 columns, each bearing the emblem of a state (50 states and the District of Columbia). The monument was built in 1966 with funds donated by Jewish communities in the USA.

It was designed by the Israeli architect David Resnick.

The site is located seven miles from downtown Jerusalem, in the same general direction as Hadassah Medical Center

Hadassah Medical Center

Hadassah Medical Center is a medical organization that operates two University hospitals at Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology affiliated with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The hospital was founded by Hadassah,...

. It is reached by following the winding mountain roads past Ora

Ora, Israel

Ora is a moshav in central Israel. Located to the south-west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 909.The moshav was established in 1950 by immigrants from Yemen....

 and Aminadav

Aminadav

Aminadav is a moshav in central Israel. Located southwest of Jerusalem near Yad Kennedy, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council...

. The monument and adjoining picnic grounds are part of the John F. Kennedy Peace Forest.