S'13
04-25-2004, 01:50 PM
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1082793081882
Nation remembers fallen heroes
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
When the nation bowed its head Sunday evening for Remembrance Day it marked the 20,196 servicemen and women who have fallen in defense of the state since November 1947.
In the past year 184 members of the Israel Police, IDF, Border Police, Prisons Service, General Security Service, and other organizations were killed in the service of the state. Including all those who fell defending the Land of Israel since 1860, the number reaches 21,781.
Remembrance Day officially began at 7:30 Sunday evening when President Moshe Katsav opened the memorial day at the Western Wall.
"Israel will continue to fight for its existence and at the same time extend a hand of peace, " President Moshe Katsav told the gathering. "We bow our heads and embrace you the bereaved families.
Representatives of bereaved parents as well as IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon and OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh also attended.
A one-minute siren wailed across the country at precisely 8 p.m. and citizens stopped in silent commemoration.
In his speech, Ya'alon said Israelis "were still living by the sword," and that Israel's War of Independence "had not yet ended."
The main Remembrance Day memorial will take place Monday at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery and be carried out simultaneously at 43 military cemeteries around the country.
A two-minute siren will sound at 11 a.m. Monday. A ceremony will also take place at the memorial for fallen Beduin soldiers at the Hamovil junction in the Galilee.
The Defense Ministry has made available additional buses and public transportation for people wishing to get to military cemeteries.
Remembrance Day is to be marked officially by lighting memorial flames and placing wreaths on graves. The Defense Ministry has already placed a miniature Israeli flag on the graves of all the fallen soldiers in military cemeteries across the country. In addition to the flags, black memorial ribbons will also be placed on the graves.
Remembrance Day was to have started Saturday night, but it was moved one day later recently in Israel to accommodate observant families so that Shabbat would not be desecrated.
However, the original date was kept abroad, which created a bizarre and uncomfortable situation where communities in the Diaspora will be celebrating Independence Day while here in Israel the nation will still be mourning.
Nation remembers fallen heroes
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
When the nation bowed its head Sunday evening for Remembrance Day it marked the 20,196 servicemen and women who have fallen in defense of the state since November 1947.
In the past year 184 members of the Israel Police, IDF, Border Police, Prisons Service, General Security Service, and other organizations were killed in the service of the state. Including all those who fell defending the Land of Israel since 1860, the number reaches 21,781.
Remembrance Day officially began at 7:30 Sunday evening when President Moshe Katsav opened the memorial day at the Western Wall.
"Israel will continue to fight for its existence and at the same time extend a hand of peace, " President Moshe Katsav told the gathering. "We bow our heads and embrace you the bereaved families.
Representatives of bereaved parents as well as IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon and OC Home Front Command Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh also attended.
A one-minute siren wailed across the country at precisely 8 p.m. and citizens stopped in silent commemoration.
In his speech, Ya'alon said Israelis "were still living by the sword," and that Israel's War of Independence "had not yet ended."
The main Remembrance Day memorial will take place Monday at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery and be carried out simultaneously at 43 military cemeteries around the country.
A two-minute siren will sound at 11 a.m. Monday. A ceremony will also take place at the memorial for fallen Beduin soldiers at the Hamovil junction in the Galilee.
The Defense Ministry has made available additional buses and public transportation for people wishing to get to military cemeteries.
Remembrance Day is to be marked officially by lighting memorial flames and placing wreaths on graves. The Defense Ministry has already placed a miniature Israeli flag on the graves of all the fallen soldiers in military cemeteries across the country. In addition to the flags, black memorial ribbons will also be placed on the graves.
Remembrance Day was to have started Saturday night, but it was moved one day later recently in Israel to accommodate observant families so that Shabbat would not be desecrated.
However, the original date was kept abroad, which created a bizarre and uncomfortable situation where communities in the Diaspora will be celebrating Independence Day while here in Israel the nation will still be mourning.