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World Jewish News
Sirens to wail at 11, heralding Remembrance Day ceremonies
28.04.2009
Sirens will wail for two minutes at 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, as Remembrance Day ceremonies open throughout the country.
The main state ceremony will take place at Mount Herzl, with President Shimon Peres, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and more than 100,000 Israelis.
Concurrently, Defense Minister Ehud Barak will attend the ceremony at the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv.
Remembrance Day events will end at 7:45 p.m. with the lighting of the torch at Mount Herzl. Independence Day celebrations will then commence.
On Monday night, Israel paused to mourn its fallen soldiers, as the nation marked Remembrance Day and honored the memory of those who lost their lives in defense of the state.
A one-minute air-raid siren wailed across the country at 8 p.m. Monday night, followed by ceremonies in memory of fallen soldiers and the victims of terror attacks across the country.
The official state ceremony marking the start of Israel's Memorial Day began immediately after the siren at Jerusalem's Western Wall Plaza, in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, and bereaved families.
"They say the pain dissolves as times moves on, as years pass. And I know it isn't so: Pain just becomes sharper as the days and years go by," Peres said at the start of the ceremony. "You see a soldier in IDF uniform in the street and your eyes well up.
"You hear steps in the stairwell and you think maybe he returned, maybe he's coming home," he continued. "But no, it's not him. You participate in a family gathering and your heart is broken. Everybody dances and laughs and you make an effort to break into a smile so as not to spoil the fun.
"This year, also, we lost the best of our boys and girls, some of them in Operation Cast Lead. This year also we returned to the cemeteries, to bury our dead, mourn their loss and cry with the families," the president said.
"For 61 years we have been burying our children and the end is still not on our horizon," Peres said. "Again and again the boys are called to protect their fathers and mothers; again and again the commanders lead their troops and fall in battle, because the best of our men always go down first."
Although the country has faced its share of threats, Peres predicted even more to come, and insisted that Israel wanted peace but was ready for war.
"This year, too, the threat to our existence persists, and yet, we do not run away from the battlefield. We do not want war, but if it is forced upon us, I suggest to our enemies and friends as one, to be on the right side, our side, the side that has always won and will always win," he said.
"The fallen have left behind them a strong and assured country," Peres concluded.
After Peres spoke, Ashkenazi took the stand and praised the IDF soldiers and the army's high moral standard.
"Here, in front of the Wailing Wall, I stand together with all of the IDF soldiers and salute all those who died in defense of our country," the IDF chief said.
"In this time, when speculations and allegations are being made about the moral code of the IDF following Operation Cast Lead, I would like to tell you about the sacrifices being made in fighting terrorism," said Ashkenazi. "The IDF is committed to saving human life, and our enemies take advantage of our high morals when firing at us from within centers of civilian population."
Ashkenazi praised the IDF soldiers, saying that "as their commander I want to tell you - our advantage over our enemies is because of our soldiers; we can and should be proud of them."
He went on to pledge that "the moral and ethical code will continue to lead the IDF in its operations and efforts to defend the citizens of Israel."
While he expressed hope for peace, Ashkenazi also warned those who wish to harm the state of Israel.
"To our enemies - after decades of conflicts, we still carry the hope to live side by side in peace, but I don't recommend that anyone try and challenge us. We are strong and well prepared," he stressed.
The ceremony was broadcast live on Monday night on all Israeli television channels and radio stations.
All places of entertainment will be closed from Monday night until sunset Tuesday.
A two-minute memorial siren will also sound at 11 a.m. Tuesday, followed by official ceremonies at 43 military cemeteries.
The Defense Ministry said that since 1860, when the first Jewish settlers began establishing Jewish neighborhoods outside the Jerusalem city walls, 22,570 men and women have been killed in defense of the Land of Israel.
In the past year, 133 soldiers and security personnel died, a figure that includes non-combat deaths.
There will also be a ceremony for overseas Mahal volunteers who fought and died during the War of Independence, which will take place at the Mahal memorial near the Sha'ar Hagai Junction.
Remembrance Day will draw to a close Tuesday night at 8 p.m. with the traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl marking the sudden transition from sadness to joy with the start of Israel's 61th Independence Day.
Earlier, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu urged the country to maintain the unity it feels during Remembrance Day every day of the year.
"The unity that we feel during this day is natural and clear," Netanyahu said at a ceremony at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. "But I must say especially on this day of unity, that this [must continue] every day of the year.
"It is this unity which helps us through times of despair and difficulties, and it is this which will also help us tomorrow to face great challenges," he continued. "Our existence as a people and a nation depends on this unity."
Netanyahu also spoke of the need to ensure that every IDF soldier killed or captured by the enemy be returned to Israel.
"Today, as we remember those who have fallen, we should also lend our thoughts to those who were wounded and handicapped, and we should wish them a full recovery and rehabilitation," he said. "We won't spare any effort in locating those missing in action, and in bringing back kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Schalit."
By JPOST.COM STAFF. Etgar Lefkovitz and Yaakov Katz contributed to this story.
Источник: JPost.com
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