At 8 p.m. last night, the commemorations began with a one minute siren across the country - marking the start of commemorative ceremonies in every city or town.
Here in Ra'anana, we went at about 7 p.m. to be able to find seats. By 7:30 p.m., the outdoor Yad L'Banim venue was overflowing. Thousands of people, young and old, religious and secular, men and women, all attending to remember those who have fallen. All of the stores and restaurants in the city closed early. Many streets were closed off.
These events are incredibly moving and powerful. Not too many dry eyes. It began at 8 p.m. with the national siren blaring. There were some speeches - by the Mayor of Ra'anana Chaim Broide and by the chair of the Organization of Bereaved Families. The event also included videos of stories of a few of the fallen soldiers - and footage of some different war time experiences and events. In between the speeches and the videos, there were live musical performances. This year's singer was exceptional. Unfortunately, I don't have his name handy (I will try to update the blog when I have it). But he sang 4 songs over the course of the evening. Two of them were based on poems or songs that had been written by soldiers before they were killed and then put to music later. He sang these pieces with such emotion. The audience was silent - you could hear a pin drop when he stopped singing.
The ceremony is also divided with the reading out of the names of the all of the fallen soldiers, security personnel and victims of terror from Ra'anana - in two groups by the year they fell. Names are read out from 1948 until the present day with a break in the early 1970s.
Unfortunately, it is long list. For each name, a picture of the individual appears on the screen. I was curious to see how many years there have been in which no one from Ra'anana was killed. Since 1978, I counted 12 years in total. Just 12 years out of the last 48.
The ceremony also includes the reading of a Yizkor prayer, the "El Maleh Rahamim" sung by one of Ra'anana's Chazanim and of course the singing of Hatikvah at the end (Israel's national anthem). They don't say Kaddish at these commemorations which seems a bit strange to me. The ceremony runs for about an hour and a half.
For people who do not want to or cannot attend in person, Israeli TV broadcasts the national ceremony from Jerusalem - with some of Israel's most well known singers, politicians, army personnel and representatives of the bereaved families.
After the ceremony, Israeli TV broadcasts an evening of solemn Yom Hazikaron songs on a program called "Music in the Square." The music is powerful, emotional, but also incredibly sad. But that is the way Israelis commemorate the day - by watching or attending at musical performances at some of the saddest - but some of the best Israeli music.
Yom Hazikaron is such an important day because most people know someone who died in battle or was related to someone who was killed. The Israeli army is still very much a "people's army." With national conscription, most Israelis, men and women, wind up serving. After their compulsory service of 2-3 years, they become part of the "reserves" and are called to serve for a few (or several) weeks per year.
This means that whenever there is a war, everyone has to take responsibility for defending the country. It is our neighbours, our families, our friends and their children - who put on their uniforms and defend the country.
Since 2023, the army has played a central role in the lives of so many Israelis. With the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Hamas and subsequently Hezbollah - and then Iran and the Houthis - reserves were called up in massive numbers - to show up and help Israel defend itself. Many reserve soldiers have served hundreds of days since 2023 - far more than they would have had to in the past. This has disrupted their lives to an unimaginable degree.
On October 7, 2023, approximately 1200 Israelis were killed including more than 825 civilians, who were killed in their homes or while attending the Nova music festival. The Hamas terrorists who carried out these attacks had plans to get to other cities and settlements in Israel and murder thousands more people. Israeli reserves and security personnel across the country mobilized as quickly as they could that day and rushed to the Gaza envelope area to help fight off these attacks. A son of one of the members of our synagogue. One of our daughter's best friend's husband. A few of the soldier's who had been in our son's unit. These are just a few of the people that we know of who fell in battle.
Throughout the history of modern Israel, since 1948, things have been rocky. There have been far too many wars. Israel is surrounded by hostile neighbours - some of whom (like Iran) have vowed to destroy the country. But the people remain hopeful. We have peace deals with Egypt, Jordan the United Arab Emirates. There is talk that we may be close to a peace deal with Saudi Arabia and perhaps peace with Lebanon is a possibility - and maybe even Syria. Hopefully one day, that list will include Iran and Iraq as well - and the other remaining countries throughout the Middle East so that Yom Hazikaron will not need to be such a gaping, open wound each year.
But for now, Yom Hazikaron is not distant at all. It is very immediate. Now as we still face threats that the war between the U.S. and Iran may restart or the war between Israel and Hezbollah (Lebanon) may restart as early as tomorrow, there is a very real concern that more Israeli soldiers and civilians could be in very serious danger.
At 11 a.m. this morning, there was a two minute siren across the country. Right afterwards, ceremonies were held at all of the military ceremonies across the country. There was also a televised national ceremony from Jerusalem - featuring a speech by Prime Minister Netanyahu. This was a much shorter event than the events last night. It was followed by televised musical performances and movies, documentaries and clips about different Israeli operations and fallen soldiers.
Overall it was one of those days on which we feel an incredible range of emotions. First of all - sadness and devastation at the loss. The effect on so many families - that lost sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, parents, friends, spouses and partners. Then there is pride - the notion that the country pulls together to defend the country and the people of Israel - that people view this as their responsibility - to ensure the continued existence of the State of Israel - and the safety and well-being of their fellow Israelis - their family, friends, neighbours. And then - certainly - there is also some fear and uncertainty. What will come next? Will we ever get to a state of peace here? Is it all worth it?
Hard questions to answer. Certainly the tie-in between Yom Hashoah v'Hagevurah (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) that we observed last week - and Yom Hazikaron today - illustrates the fragility of the Jewish experience worldwide. Looking around at the world today - and the growing instances of anti-Semitism - it seems all too obvious that the Jewish people need the State of Israel - in a very real and existential way. The future of the Jewish communities in so many countries seems tenuous - even countries in which Jews seemed to be thriving and safe for so many years.
Against that backdrop, I would say that overall, the feelings of pride and responsibility ultimately outweigh the grief and sadness - and the commemoration of Yom Hazikaron becomes a powerful day of remembrance - but also a day of determination - and even thankfulness - to those who were lost in battle and for the great things that were accomplished because of so many Israelis who have actively participated in building the country.
And soon - as Yom Hazikaron comes to a conclusion - we transition to one of the happiest days of the year - Yom Haatzmaut - Israel Independence Day. Tonight we will mark 78 years since the founding of the modern State of Israel. The two days are situated so closely together as an ever present reminder that it is the determination and sacrifices of so many of our soldiers that enabled the State to grow, develop and thrive.
Let's hope that over time, our celebrations of Yom Haatzmaut will take place without overhanging clouds of war - and with an emphasis on the joy and happiness of independence rather than such a contemporaneous feeling of loss caused by war.
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