A Jerusalem high school student, Klil Shemesh, noticed that the Hebrew birth date on Hannah Szenes's gravestone has been incorrect for 70 years, Ynet reported on Monday.
Shemesh, who is a fan of the late paratrooper, noted that the date on the gravestone was Tamuz 21 when in fact, Szenes was born on Tamuz 11. She immediately notified the Defense Ministry, and the date was corrected.
"I've always been interested in Szenes' life story," Shemesh told Ynet. "In 11th grade, I decided to write my final assignment for Literature about her poems and how they are reflected in her biography.
While conducting research for the project, I came across a photo of her grave, and I saw that the date on it did not match what I knew. I looked for her birth certificate in the website of the National Library, and I compared it to the Hebrew calendar of that year and I saw that there really was a mistake. I went to Mount Herzl with my father and we confirmed that the date was wrong."
After revisiting the grave after the date was corrected, Shemesh told Ynet that "it is only right to honor the memory of such a great historical figure with the correct details."
Hannah Szenes was a Jewish Hungarian paratrooper who fought the Nazis in World War II. She was eventually captured and sentenced to death at the age of 23. She is buried in the Mount Herzl cemetery alongside many Israeli fallen soldiers.