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PAGE 6 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE May 9, 1986
Sue Winner
—Remembrance Day
— Sincerely, Sue Winner
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Congregation Or VeShalom
6 P.M. • Sunday • May 11
Sephardic Foods
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and
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1986 Chevrolet Nova
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Lunches with the Stars
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Gate City Lodge
SC?j. ^ \ ft
B’nai B’rith
Member & Prospective Member
Family Picnic
To salute Israel's 38th birthday 1
Sunday, May 18
1:30-5:30 p.m.
AJCC/Zaban
FREE FOOD & FUN
for prospective members & families
Only $5 per family for all others'
Entire Community Invited
Pony rides • Games • Magic Show
Raffles-Wm hotel stays, dinners, more 1
For further information, contact Beth Cohen
9705; Ken or Sherri Levy- 458-0162, Arie oi L
Koh n — 565-1 505
RAIN OR SHINE 1 "
Israel honors its fallen soldiers
The details of the battle are not apparent, but the message is clear.
This unique torch is a symbol of remembrance for Israel’s fallen soldiers.
by Lili Eylon
World Zionist Press Service
A children’s playground deep in
the Jerusalem Forest. A sympo
sium on the subject of cotton grow
ing. A Torah scroll in a southern
synagogue. An annual pri/e (or
fostering Arab-Jewtsh relations.
The common denominator of these
diverse items and hundreds of oth
ers is their dedication to a talien
soldier ot Israel: each bears the
name ot a son. brother, husband or
father who died while defending
his country.
It is safe to say that no nation
honors and commemorates its dead
as do the people of Israel. A people
with a traditional respect tor
human life (“he who saves one soul
is as it he saves a w hole world ).
whose annals are tilled by exile,
pogrom and the Holocaust, is bound
to be particularly sensitive to life,
suffering and death. And in a
country which, since its inception,
has know n several w ars and no real
peace, there has been ample oppor
tunity to demonstrate this sensiti
vity.
Since November 1947, some 17,()(X)
of the nation’s sons and daughters
have paid with their lives in “offi
cial” wars, isolated incidents or
terrorist attacks. I he respect ren
dered them and the finesse of feel
ing toward the bereaved lirst be
come evident by the manner in
w hich their death is communicated
to their families. There is no imper
sonal telegram or letter. A spe
cially trained army representative,
usually a member of the peer group
of the deceased, plus two or three
civilian volunteers, one of whom is
often a bereaved person himself,
first check the medical status of the
parents or widow and question
neighbors about any special prob
lems which may exist within the
family. Only after all the relevant
facts become known to them, do
the bearers of the sad tidings ap
proach the survivors.
Israel honors its sons in a variety
of ways. The Commemoration Unit
of the Department of Rehabilita
tion at the Ministry of Defense has
been publishing two series of
books. “Yi/kor." biographies of all
who have fallen, and "Scrolls ot
Fire," containing the prose and
poetry, scientific writings, paint
ings, photographs and other crea
tive works of the boys whose lives
were cut short "When I peruse
these books,” said Prof. Urbach, a
bereaved father, who is president
of the Israel Academy of Sciences
and Humanities, “1 see what the
people of Israel have lost.”
More than 700 group and indi
vidual monuments stand as silent
witnesses to a nation’s long memory.
Numerous settlements hear the names
ot defenders. Mishmat Hashiva
commemoiates the seven who fell
in 1947 a cl o mpair. m h ,i fond con
voy lob', sieged Icnisalem; Halatned
t V 1' s !
I 1 1 ai, 1 . ’ ■ ai ■ I:,.i! Inld: !i i
a young person, strong, and olten
wise beyond his years, lived in the
community, attended the local school,
read, played and died before his
time.
Through the years, family and
friends have published a total of
some 3,200 memorial books of
writings by and about their dear
ones Kibbut/nik Yehuda Ben Horin
w ho, during the Six Day War lost
both of his sons on the same day,
recently presented the Tel Aviv Uni
versity w it h a gift of a 1,700 v olume
library he gathered on the subject
ot grief.
In Israel’s close-knit society,
every soldier is considered kin. It is
thus titling that one of the most
important and joyful holiday s. In
dependence Day, is immediately
preceded by Remembrance Day.
I he very dear price for Israel’s
existence is marked in official com
memorative ceremonies in every
city, town, kihbut/ and moshav,
vv ith state observance in the 39 mil
itary cemeteries throughout the
country. At sites of some of the
memorial monuments, school young
sters gather to pause and remember,
listening to the story ot what hap
pened on the spot, reciting poems,
singing songs and each devoting
thoughts to all who tell, one of
whom could well he a member ot
his own family in a nation where
almost every family has been
st i ickcn
< hi Renicmhiancc I >av Lags ate
N■ >vv n at hall mast and all places ot
C'l'.ci tammenl are closed 1 his i> a
minute as the sirens wail the gen
eral mourning. Drivers brake and
step out of their cars, housewives
quit their work and bow their
heads, workers cease their labor
and all stand as one, recalling those
w ho are no more.
On Remembrance Day the min
ister of defense sends a personal
letter to the bereaved tamilies usu
ally delivered by a school young
ster- with a message of personal
participation and encouragement.
The letters are accompanied by a
special gift, usuallv a book dealing
with the history and geography, or
floia and fauna ot Israel.
Dr. Irwin Smalheiser. a newly
arrived immigrant from Midwest
ern America, has been collecting
these letters and commemorative
envelopes, and has recently pub
lished them, because, as he says.
"Jews everywhere owe Israels
fallen the same debt." In his publi
cation, Dr. Smalheiser recalls that
the practice of lamenting the deaths
of warrior heroes goes back to bt
lical times when David grieved
over the deaths ot Saul and J° na
than:
"And thev waited and u opt am
fasted until even,
for Saul and Jonathan and his son,
and for the people of the I or dam
for the House of Israel
because they were lallen In i
\ word." m
Thus, the RememH.i
wimen in 1975 bv S
then minister ol detv 1
.;) P! .11V
is our hope that
courage of our son-- ■
nrv ot their sact iH
M a m . t he heat i heal
11 '•'"P'' I i "ii. l-mc
the
tampans of
vv it fun them
