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World Jewish News
Netanyahu: Israel will never stop defending itself
28.04.2009
As Israel commemorated Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers and victims of terror on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that the country would never forfeit its ability to defend itself.
"We owe it to our fallen soldiers to preserve our ability to defend ourselves," Netanyahu said during the official Memorial Day event at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem.
Israelis fell silent on Tuesday morning as a two-minute siren wailed across the country to mark Memorial Day. The official day of remembrance opened on Monday evening and will continue into Independence Day after sundown on Tuesday.
Ceremonies were planned throughout the day at military cemeteries across the country. Radio and television stations played somber music and devoted programs to retelling the stories of soldiers killed in battle. Movie theaters, restaurants and other places of entertainment were closed and schools held memorial services.
On Tuesday evening, the melancholy observances were to transform seamlessly into celebrations marking the 61st anniversary of Israel's independence.
According to the Defense Ministry, 133 soldiers and civilians died during the past year either in the course of military service or as civilian casualties of hostile activity.
The total number of those who have been remembered by this Memorial Day is 22,570. The dead who are counted date from 1860, when Jews first settled outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The IDF has shut down checkpoints on key West Bank roads leading into Israel until after Independence Day, to avoid possible attacks by Palestinian militants in crowded city centers.
President Shimon Peres addressed Israel's bereaved families after lighting a memorial flame at the Western Wall plaza during the Memorial Day ceremony on Monday evening.
In his address, Peres went on to say that Israel's very existence was still threatened, in an apparent reference to Iran, whose president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for the country to be wiped off the map.
IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi later told the tearful gathering of families and dignitaries at the Western Wall that Israel must face extremists from the Palestinian territories and from Iran.
"The declarations of Iran's president a few days ago still resonate and remind us well that in the 61st year of Israel's independence, the threats against it haven't stopped or slowed," Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi said. "Israel considers Iran a main enemy because of Ahmadinejad's threats, Iran's nuclear program and its development of long-range missiles."
After the speeches by Ashkenazi and Peres, an IDF cantor recited Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning.
Источник: Haaretz
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