Israel honors 23,085 fallen soldiers & police officers this Memorial Day

At 8:00 P.M. a 1-minute siren will sound nation-wide, marking the opening of IDF and Terror Victims Remembrance Day, followed by commemoration ceremonies.

By Gili Cohen and

 

Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers will begin at 4 P.M. on Sunday with a ceremony at Yad Lebanim in Jerusalem, attended by the prime minister, the speaker of the Knesset and the Sephardi and Ashkenazi chief rabbis.

A woman placing flowers on the grave of a relative at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery last week.


A woman placing flowers on the grave of a relative at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery last week. – Photo: KoKo

 

At 8 P.M. a one-minute siren will sound throughout the country, marking the official opening of Memorial Day, followed by commemoration ceremonies. A torch will be lit at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.

At 8:30 P.M. the Knesset will host a program of songs in memory of the fallen. According to Defense Ministry figures, the total number of Israel’s fallen is 23,085. Since last Memorial Day 92 names have been added to the list: 37 soldiers, 12 police personnel and 43 disabled veterans who died over the pas year. The relatives of the fallen − parents, spouses and children up to age 30 − number 17,533.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said: “the pain is great and the longings never cease. Pictures pass before our eyes of relatives, friends, soldiers under our command and comrades in arms who paid the highest price of all … In their deaths the fallen have bequeathed us not only life but the right to fight for our existence here. The struggle has not ended. We are a peace-loving people and always will be, but we will not compromise on our security. We will cut off the hand of anyone who tries to harm us.”

On Monday, after the sounding of a two-minute siren, ceremonies for the fallen will begin throughout the country. A state ceremony will take place on Mount Herzl, with the participation of the prime minister, the president and the chief of staff. Another ceremony will be held at the military cemetery of Kiryat Shaul in Tel Aviv, to be attended by the defense minister. A ceremony for the victims of terror attacks will be held at 1 P.M. on Mount Herzl with the president, Social Affairs Minister Meir Cohen and the chief of staff.

According to the National Insurance Institute, 2,493 civilians have been killed in terror attacks since the end of the War of Independence, including 120 foreigners. Since the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, 974 civilians have been killed in terror attacks, 10 of whom were killed over the past year. The Defense Ministry’s commemoration department says it expects more than 1.5 million people to visit military cemeteries throughout the country. Its representatives will be on hand at the cemeteries to distribute flowers and bottled water. A flag, memorial candle and flowers will be placed on each grave.

The traditional torch lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl on Monday night will end the Memorial Day ceremonies and kick off Independence Day. The theme of the torchlighting ceremony is the protection of national heritage for coming generations, spotlighting state spending of approximately NIS 400 million on restoring and upgrading heritage sites.

 

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/on-memorial-day-israel-honors-23-085-fallen-soldiers-and-police-officers-1.515295