if you ever become a head of state or have some high position in your country, I would truly recommend looking to Israel for a supreme example of how to honor your fallen soldiers. Here in Israel Yom HaZikaron, “the day to remember” isn’t a joyful holiday or a three day weekend, nor does it mark the beginning of summer. It marks the day in which we, the whole country, remember our fallen soldiers. Period.
There are strict government laws regarding business operation, and last night, the start of the holiday, all stores, restaurants and even gas stations were closed. Today, once again all businesses will close at around 2 pm. Two sirens are sounded in every city in the country, one last night and one this morning, in which a minute of silence is dedicated to the soldiers. Much of the country stands for this minute, while others sit and say prayers for the soldiers. Traffic on the highways literally stops and drivers get out of their cars. I was on a bus last night, on a highway near Tel Aviv, and to witness this was truly moving!
Now it is true that in almost any other country, making all these laws and observing memorial day as we do here in Israel wouldn’t quite have the same effect. Why? Because regardless of our divide as a people, between those who observe Jewish law and those who don’t, we are still one big family, and we always will be. Every fallen soldier is our son, our brother, our father…….and we mourn collectively and pray for a brighter future for each and every one of our young men — a future in which there is peace with our neighbors, and a future in which the whole world will stop pointing fingers so that we can quietly go about our business as the Jewish people.
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