Two-minute sirens sounded across Israel at 8 p.m. on May 10 to usher in Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day that honors the country’s 23,447 casualties of war and terrorism.
Speaking at a ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem the following day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled the soldiers Israel has lost fighting for survival over its 68-year history.
Netanyahu paid his respects to the families who have lost loved ones in the numerous wars Israel has fought over the years, saying the whole nation was heavyhearted.
“For the bereaved families who have lost loved ones, this Remembrance Day we memorialize those who were lost, and on this day all of the people of Israel feel this agony with you,” Netanyahu said, according to the Jerusalem Post. “In Israel, the boys and girls who defend our nation along with their families should feel pride.”
Netanyahu later that day attended a ceremony in Jerusalem honoring victims of terror attacks, saying he felt the pain of the bereaved families affected by terrorism.
The Defense Ministry said there were 68 casualties in the past year, and 58 disabled IDF veterans died of their wounds. Altogether, according to ministry statistics, there are 16,307 bereaved relatives in Israel today, including 9,442 families, 4,917 war widows and 1,948 orphans. More than 1 million Israelis were expected to have spent the day visiting military cemeteries.
At sundown on May 11, Israelis shifted from mourning to celebrating as Memorial Day ended and Independence Day (Yom HaAtzmaut) began.
The country’s 68th birthday kicked off with an annual torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl. In the opening address at the ceremony, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein spoke about the country’s social divisions, the Times of Israel reported.
“The tensions that characterize us, and which are often healthy, have exceeded the boundaries of good taste,” he said. “Widespread freedom of expression, the lifeblood of democracy, is often characterized by offensive discourse. Utterances have become more and more extreme: sector by sector, belief against belief and worldview against worldview.”
Meanwhile, one of the four winners of this year’s Israel Prize said he will donate the $20,000 prize to a group working to end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
David Shulman, a Hebrew University linguistics professor being honored for his work on the language and culture of south India, announced in a video posted online on May 11 that he will give the money to Ta’ayush. Founded in 2000, the group is described on its website as a “grassroots movement of Arabs and Jews working to break down the walls of racism and segregation by constructing a true Arab-Jewish partnership.”
Among the 12 Israelis selected to light a torch at the May 11 ceremony in Jerusalem were Rona Ramon, widow of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, and four people selected for acts of heroism during terrorist attacks.