April 19, 2010 / 5 Iyar 5770

As Israel commemorated Memorial Day Israel from April 18-19, 2010, remembering the 22,682 fallen soldiers and victims of terror since 1948 with sirens and ceremonies across the country, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky offered his own tribute to those who have fallen. 

"We  - and also our enemies - understand that our power and strength come from our army and from the solidarity of the entire Jewish people with Israel," Sharansky told the crowd assembled on the plaza outside the Jerusalem Jewish Agency office. "The war against Israel and the Jewish people has no borders, and our enemies are attacking us, not only in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but also in Argentina, France, England, in Mumbai. Our enemies are right to believe is our strength. You cannot separate between our identity and our solidarity. "

According to Jewish Agency statistics, since the establishment of the State of Israel, 200 Jews have been killed in terrorist and anti-Semitic attacks around the world.

To memorialize the victims, a torch was lit by Jean Goldie Orta, daughter of the late Norma Shvartzblat Rabinovich who was murdered in a Chabad house in Mumbai. Norma, a Mexican citizen traveling in India, was killed when she was on her way to immigrate to Israel with the assistance of the Jewish Agency.

Other dignitaries at the ceremony included Hagai Merom, treasurer of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, Effie Stenzler, Chairman of the JNF,  Greg Masel, Director General of Keren Hayesod-UIA, Becky Kaspi, Director-General UJC-Israel, Alan Hoffmann, Director-General of the Jewish Agency, and Yona Bezalely, Chairman of the Jewish Agency Workers Union.

Across Jerusalem, two thousand MASA Israel students and delegations from around the world filled Ammunition Hill to commemorate Memorial Day.

Jewish Agency Chair Natan Sharansky opened the ceremony by sharing his memories of solidarity with Israel while he was in a Siberian prison. “I felt the feeling of loss, the feeling of emptiness, yet each fighter strengthened us. It is part of the great struggle of our people,” he said.

The Israeli flag was flown at half-staff in commemoration. As part of the ceremony, there were seven vignettes about fallen soldiers emphasizing that their legacy lives on in the Zionist dream. It helped personalize Yom Hazikaron for the many youth who were visiting Israel. The final tribute was in memory of Michael Levin (z”l), an American-born soldier who made Aliyah and was killed in the Second Lebanon War. 

The ceremony closed with the singing of the Hatikva.

Photo Credit: Sasson Tiram