Did you ever have an experience that, despite knowing what will happen, hit you like the proverbial ton of bricks? Today is Yom HaZikaron in Israel, the day on which the fallen of the Israel Defense Forces and the Victims of Terrorism are remembered (you’ll note “zikaron” and “yizkor” have the same z,k,r root). The day was officially established in 1963, designated to be celebrated one day before Israel’s Yom HaAtzma’ut, Independence Day. Before that relatives of the IDF killed in battle brought flowers and flags to the graves. It was felt for good reason that there should be a distinction, that the festive mood of Yom HaAtzma’ut should be maintained by establishing a day of memorial.
And did they ever create such a day!
At 8 PM and 11:00 AM sirens are heard all over the State of Israel. But it’s not just the din of the sirens that catches your immediate attention. Everyone and everything stand absolutely still for the two minutes the sirens blare…and I mean absolutely still, sometimes in mid-step. Automobiles, buses, trucks in cities, towns and highways stop; people stop and other than the siren there is an eerie silence. In memory of the fallen the country stops to remember. We were told to expect this, but until it’s experienced you cannot imagine what it’s like.
Since our holidays and commemorations begin the night before (erev) there are no forms of entertainment, such as movies or nightclubs, open after sunset; and all day long through the next evening the radio and television stations broadcast somber music. On the television screen the names of the fallen are shown in a continuous thread. There are almost 24,000 names.
There are memorial services all over the country and at 8 PM the day of, there is a commemoration at Har Herzl, the military cemetery (the cemetery is something to behold in and of itself) which officially concludes Yom HaZikaron and begins Yom HaAtzma’ut.
Of course, the commemoration will be radically different this year because of the COVID-19 situation.
A few years ago, it was decided to include civilian casualties of terrorism in the names shown on tv. The families of soldiers objected believing it should be a day focusing on the IDF. The compromise was reached to hold an official ceremony two hours prior to the one ending the day. Over 1300 terrorism victims are remembered at that time.
Yom HaZikaron is truly awe-inspiring.
(Speaking of memorials, I’m sure you understand that I’m not including a joke today…maybe two tomorrow. Now if you’re really lucky, maybe I’ll skip tomorrow as well. Naaaah!)