"Rachel is weeping for her children;.... because they are no more"

Earlier tonight, before we knew that the three kidnapped Israeli teenagers had been murdered shortly after they were taken, I took a photo of one of the many home-made signs calling for the release of the three. The sign below was attached to the fence in front of the Shalom Hartman high school for girls on Rachel Imenu Street. It says "And the children will return to their own country."

The boys' names were Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach, as this photo below says. It quotes from the same verse - "Rachel weeps for her children ... and the children will return to their own country."

The verses are from Jeremiah 31:15-17. Rachel is a symbol for the Jewish people.

Thus says the Lord:
       A voice is heard in Ramah,
             lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
       she refuses to be comforted for her children,
             because they are no more. 

Thus says the Lord:
       Keep your voice from weeping,
       and your eyes from tears;
       for there is a reward for your work,
says the Lord:
       they shall come back from the land of the enemy; 

there is hope for your future,
        says the Lord:
        your children shall come back to their own country.

There's a vigil right now in Tel Aviv - photo below.

Powerful and poignant photo of Tel Aviv vigil happening now for murdered Israeli teens: http://t.co/OzK8dD7XfE (via @LahavHarkov)
— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) June 30, 2014