Benny Gantz: An Unusually Painful Memorial Day
As of Monday, Israel has a list of 23,816 fallen.Under lockdown, Israel braces for particularly somber Memorial Day
Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism is the most personal of all national days. In tens of thousands of Israeli homes, families spend time with the memories of their loved ones, and Israel Defense Forces soldiers and commanders, past and present, salute their brothers who fell in battle.
I served the State of Israel for 38 years; I lost comrades in arms both at my side and under my command, and what pains me most is that I will never be able to comfort their families.
On Memorial Day, we go back to the foundations of our existence, to the Zionism in the name of which we established the country and for the sake of which many were killed in the War of Independence and after it.
When we remember the nation’s first dead, we realize what would have happened if there hadn’t been a Jewish state — if there hadn’t been a fairly small group of pioneers who fought for our right to be here only a few years after the horrors of the Holocaust.
The State of Israel’s existence is ensured through its strength, and through our willingness to fight. On the battlefield, in the technological and logistics divisions, at the front and the home front, IDF soldiers and the other branches of the security apparatus protect Israel and give their blood so we can have a Jewish, democratic state. If we are not stronger than our enemies, we will not survive.
On Memorial Day, we sanctify the resilience of Israeli society, which continues to send its sons to the front. If we do not look out for one another, or cannot live with each other, we won’t be strong enough to survive. When I decided to enter politics, I called the party I led “Israel Resilience.” Alongside our tanks and aircraft, Memorial Day is a reminder that our internal resilience is measured in our education, our defense of democracy, our tolerance of others, and our love for our homeland.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett urged families to respect the curfew despite the additional anguish it inflicted on them, saying that imposing this radical measure on Memorial Day was not a decision made lightly but was nonetheless essential to fight the pandemic.
The police said it would not forcibly prevent bereaved families from visiting the graves of their loved ones. Seeking to spare the families any additional distress the government later decided to order municipalities to shutter all military plots as of 4 p.m. Monday to avoid potential public gatherings.
The traditional military honor guards will be placed outside Israel's 52 military cemeteries and at all major monuments, as is customary.
The state ceremony marking the onset of Memorial Day will be held at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem without an audience. The ceremony, which will begin with a one-minute siren, will be televised on Israel's three news channels and livestreamed on the IDF's social media platforms.
A second, two-minute siren will sound nationwide at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Immediately after the sire, IAF jets will fly over the National Hall for Israel's Fallen, featuring a special, missing formation.
The flyover will be followed by the state ceremony at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, which will also be televised.
The state ceremony honoring victims of terror will be held on Mount Herzl at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Israel's fallen from 1860 to this week numbers 23,816, data released by the IDF ahead of Memorial Day said.
Forty-two deaths were added to Israel's list of fallen soldiers between 2019's Memorial Day and the current one, with another 33 disabled persons dying as a result of injuries sustained while in services.
Military personnel will light candles for all the fallen at the National Hall.
The lockdown will extend to Independence Day, marked this week between Tuesday evening and Wednesday night.
NGO Monitor: The 2020 Israel “Alternative Memorial Day Service”: NGO Partners and Government Sponsors
On April 27, the Israeli non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Parents Circle Families Forum and Combatants for Peace will host their 15th annual “Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony.” The event is marketed as a “joint ceremony” that “seeks to sow the seeds of hope among the two sides, and to bring to an end wars that have taken the lives of our cherished loved ones.” “Partners” of the event include Machsom Watch, Rabbis for Human Rights, Standing Together, Other Voice, and the Hadash political party.
“Co-sponsors” include numerous Israeli and American NGOs, including IfNotNow, Churches for Middle East Peace, New Israel Fund, J Street, Alliance for Middle East Peace, T’ruah, AGIAMONDO (former AGEH, Germany) and Civil Peace Service (ZFD, a consortium of German government-funded NGOs), as well as individual churches and synagogues. No Palestinian NGOs appear to be participating in and/or sponsoring the event.
Contrary to the image presented by the organizers, the event represents a narrow, one-sided part of Israeli civil society, and promotes a Palestinian narrative that draws an immoral equivalence between terror victims and terrorists. Many bereaved families in Israel have spoken out against the NGO sponsors and their focus on exclusive Israeli “guilt,” rejection of the legitimacy of Israeli narratives, and the political messages that are transmitted, explicitly and implicitly. While the sponsors claim to be advancing peace, there is no evidence for their claim.
This year, in contrast to previous ceremonies, there has been no public acknowledgement of foreign government funding for the event, including from Germany (see below). Despite having more than 30 “co-sponsors,” many of which are funded by European governments (see below), Parents Circle launched a crowdfunding campaign that has raised more than NIS 140,000 (as of April 26). It is unclear why these funds are needed given the online format of this year’s event.
As a friend of @URJorg, I am saddened you don’t promote the official Yom HaZikaron ceremony with the President of Israel in our commonly cherished Kotel instead of sponsoring an alternative event with political overtones the same time. This is time for unity, not sectarianism. https://t.co/kDjRzVFzxO
— Dani Dayan (@AmbDaniDayan) April 26, 2020