Remembrance and Independence

In Israel, it's already Yom HaZikaron....Remembrance Day. It's not unlike our Memorial Day, but it is, at the same time, vastly different. Unlike America where we compartmentalize everything so we don't have to truly face the enormity of collective pain, there is not a house, a home, a family, a community, or a city who does not feel the pain of loss on Remembrance Day. Twice on Yom HaZikaron the sirens go off: first at 8 p.m. to mark the beginning of the observance, and again at 11:00 a.m. when recitation of public prayer begins in the military cemeteries. When the sirens sound, all of Israel stands still in a moment of silence.

This day is to remember those who have fallen protecting Israel as well as all those who have died because they were present when terrorists attacked. This is not a Jewish holiday or a Christian one or a Muslim one...it's an Israeli holiday for all Israelis. If you've ever been there you know Israelis come in all shapes, sizes, colors, religions, orientations, and opinions. What unites them is exactly that which causes Israelis to rail against lines at the market, the lines at the post office, the lines at every bureau ever invented...but most of all, at their their government. Israelis are vocal about everything but in their shared grief are moments of national silence, of communal remembering, and of shared pain of loss for all families. Not just Jews, not just Muslims, not just Druze, not just Christians, not just Bahai, not just Buddhists, not just Samaritans, but ALL Israelis and ALL those who have perished through acts of terror around the world. 

Immediately following Yom HaZikaron, is Yom HaAtzmaut...Israel Independence Day. As one ends, the next begins. This is not accidental. Lots of people talk about the relationship between the two. Camp Ramah in Wisconsin's Facebook page posted an excellent explanation

Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) is observed immediately before Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day) very intentionally, and the pairing is deeply symbolic.

The core idea is this: Israel’s independence came at a cost.

Yom HaZikaron honors fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism – those who died defending the state or simply because it exists. By placing it right before Yom HaAtzmaut, the national calendar creates a direct emotional and moral link:

Remembrance → Independence

Sacrifice → Statehood

That sharp shift, from mourning to celebration, is meant to reinforce a few things:

1. Independence isn’t taken for granted. It exists because people gave their lives for it.

2. Collective memory is central to national identity. The country pauses together to remember before celebrating together.

3. Grief and joy coexist. Israeli culture often emphasizes that these emotions are intertwined, not separate.

Historically, this structure was established by the Israeli government in the early years of the המדינה (state), especially after the 1948 War of Independence, which made the connection between loss and independence undeniable.

This is not a new concept for Jews. We are pros at remembering. Mourning and loss is a recurrent theme in our texts, in our poetry, in the very essence of our lives. Since the very first exile from the land, we have longed to go home. How can we forget you, O Jerusalem, when our prayers are uttered facing in your direction? The places of our foundational stories still exist. We buried our dead on the Mount of Olives beginning about 3000 years ago and some graves remain marked. We're not newcomers to this place. But that does guarantee peace with our neighbors or with the world for that matter? 

Obviously not. These last few years have proven that the lies and the hate speech, the slander and the blood libels we have endured for centuries have not abated. There's still a drinking game in Spain during Holy Week that asks, "¿Matar judíos?"  How many Jews did you kill today? We hear the ridiculous rhetoric calling us colonizers. The haters drink the Kool Aid because they need someone to hate to feel better about themselves. We are not required to make them feel better about hate. That's a them thing, not an us thing.

Israelis are a tough, stiff-necked people; we have a right and a responsibility to defend what it our homeland. Together. Jews, Muslims, Christians, Bahai, Pastafarian, Samaritan, whatever. If you are Israeli you are one of us. We stand together. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

This past Sunday, 60 Minutes broadcast Anderson Cooper's interview with Rachel Goldberg Polin, mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. It is hard to watch, hard to hear. If you have not seen it, stop whatever it is you are doing to watch this interview. The video clips are not recreations; they are actual footage of the event. Rachel Goldberg Polin is a force of nature because she has been forced to be one. She's mother whose child was kidnapped, tortured, and then murdered. Listen to her talk about what the good days were. 

 The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you've never been to Israel, 

you don't get to have any opinion at all. 
Israel is not the place you see on the news.

You have to see it to believe it. 

Photo by Ynhockey