Memorial Day ceremonies commenced with a speech by the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, who told families of fallen soldiers that the IDF stands with them in their bereavement. Mark Neiman: GPO
Memorial Day ceremonies commenced with a speech by the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, who told families of fallen soldiers that the IDF stands with them in their bereavement
IDF Website
The Chief of Staff's speech:IDF Website
The Western Wall - this wall of prayers, last memory of the Temple, in front of which we stand every year, remembering and reminding of the sons and daughters, who gave their souls for the dream of establishing an Israeli nation in its country. The Western Wall - thousands of years of prayers and wishes are shoved into its slits, between the large bricks.
The Western Wall - the images of paratroopers touching its stones and kissing them- shedding tears of joy for the return of out people to its eternal capital, alongside tears of grief for their brothers, fallen in the grueling battles. These tears are the most esteemed expression of happiness and pain entwined in our every step and in our every struggle; they are the both honey and sting.
Both the Israeli flag on display, but also the burnt tank on the bridge leading to the Lion’s Gate. Both blowing of the shofar and calls of praise by Rabbi Goren, but also the Yizkor (remembrance) prayer; these are Independence Day, but also Memorial Day sacredly greeting it. These are tears of heroism, they are the essence of Israel’s history.
The President of Israel, IDF soldiers and commanders on duty, the house of Israel communing tonight with the pain and pride of the memory of our loved ones, family members of the fallen.
In his song, “In the full extent of mercy” Yehuda Amichai writes, “count them. You can count the. They are not grains of sand on the beach. They are not as stars in the sky. They are single people. On the corner and at the street.” I look at you and see in front of me, the long journey of fallen IDF soldier, 22,867 soldiers, commanders, in both regular service and in the army reserves.
Each of their names engraved on a tombstone or written on a memorial board; each one has a family and loved ones, aching over the loss, and each one has a story prematurely severed, diminishing the heart with questions such as “what if” and “what could have been.”
“No word can lessen the pain”
In our nation’s long struggle for future security, freedom and peace, you lost the dearest of all; no word can lessen the pain, or return what you lost the day the darkness of bereavement deluged your homes. However, looking at the army I fought and commanded in for over thirty years, and which I now lead with pride and a heavy responsibility, I clearly understand that those we lost over the years remain with us in the Spirit of the IDF, in its operations and its soldiers, day by day, night by night.
Even now, when we gather in this sacred square, fighters and commanders in the Gaza and Lebanon borders, in the Hebron and Nablus allies, in combat planes and missile ships; performing the mission carried on from generation to generation – of defending the nation and the country.
And even at this special hour, the IDF stands strong, defending fiercely, powerful and intimidating. Ready to defeat every enemy who will threaten our existence and everyday lives; and protect those looking up at us, in whose name we fight.
“We proved to the world the values of purity of arms and ethical standards”
In the past few years, in the face of constant, repeated attempts to blemish the dedication of our soldiers, the IDF never abandoned its missions, in hand a mighty ethical compass. We have proven to the world- in the field, through the legs, in tens of operations, that our soldiers and commander carry in their hearts the values of purity of arms and highest ethical standards. These operational and ethical norms were determined by commanders and soldiers who decided to establish adherence to the mission as a cardinal value and are wholeheartedly dedicated to fulfilling it.
Such were the people of the militias in the Yeshuv and the fighters of 1947 who fought with their weapons and the plow, climbed the mountain and stuck pegs in the valley, fought and paid with their lives. And these were the ones who paved the way to the old city and the heroes of the Six Day War. These were the legendary figures like Maj. Hanan Samson, Capt. Gadi Manela and Col. Arik Regev, who defeated terror in Israel and those in pursuit of them in the valley in brave missions and fell, sanctifying the rightousness of the State and the weapon. These were Golani soldiers, who wrote with courage on Beaufort Castle in Operation Peace for Galilee, such was the commander of the elite forces of Golani, Maj. Goni Hernik who stood at the head calling “After me!”, charged up the hill and never returned.
Today, too, I find in IDF commanders and its soldiers this special species of great stature. Many of them abused their souls in the battlefield over the past few years and their figures stay perfect for us forever. These qualities were engraved in the personality of the deputy commander of the battalion, Maj. Roi Klein, who sacrificed his life for his soldiers when he jumped on a grenade about to explode and kill them. I saw them in the behavior of the doctor, Capt. Igor Rotshtein, a reserves officer who fell while he treated a wounded soldier under heavy fire in the village of Merchava in southern Lebanon. I saw it in the deputy commander of the company, Lt. Alex Shwartzman, who was severely wounded as he charged into the battlefront in order to fulfill his orders and would not leave until his last drop of blood was gone.
On the Middle East revolutions, “We are watching history be made”
These extraordinary acts express the belief that if we set out for battle, we must fulfill our duties with determination, to fight the right fight – and to win. This is the fuel which pushed commanders and soldiers over generations to stand time after time at the helm, this is the inner fire which moves the IDF to achieve incredible feats, and I expect that this dedication and will to win engrained in these ethics will continue to lead commanders and combat soldiers every second, in every place and in every task they take on.
These days, we are looking around and seeing revolutions sweeping the Middle East. We are watching history be made. The events which broke out from a reality of frustration and oppression show signs of hope but also shake stability in the area and add possible threats to the State of Israel.
“We must be more flexible, more unified”
In light of all of this, the IDF must be ready to take on a variety of changing challenges, and in each battlefront and maybe in all of them together in terms of “all the nation is a battlefront”. We must strengthen and be more flexible, more creative, more unified and a better strong hold.
Only this kind of an army will send a clear message for those who wish to do us harm, because the State of Israel and the Jewish nation have a steadfast fortress and everyone who wishes to stand against us will feel our strength. Only this kind of an army, who knows how imperative defense is, who leans on priding itself on humanity of the people of this country, will be able to push away war from our region, to cry out if something happens and, mostly, bring the promise of peace to the State of Israel.
Dear family members, in this place, where we are bringing up the sacred memory of your sons and daughters we gaze at your special heroism, the miracle of coping with this day – another day of bereavement.
As someone who grew in the community of Kfar Achim, named for the brothers Efraim and Tzvi Govar, who fell in the War of Independence, and knew their nation, “the nation of boys” Rivka Govar and their father Mordechai, who from their great loss, built a huge factory of incredible production. As a commander during my service in the army I’ve stood at the door of many families whose worlds were destroyed and as someone learning today, too, about their inner strength of outstanding characters like Miriam Peretz, the mother of Uriel and Eliraz Peretz, who painful circumstances turned her into “the mother of boys” of our time. It is obvious to me that like their acts and heroism of your loved ones, your strength of spirit follow the IDF in its way throughout the years, as a source of strength and a constant reminder of the will of life of the friends of fallen soldiers.
"I stand before you tonight, swearing to continue to remember"
In the name of the IDF, for each of the tens of thousands of soldiers saluting the fallen, I stand before you tonight, swearing to continue to remember, and promise that even tomorrow, when the memorial candles turn into the fireworks of Independence Day, we the large IDF family will continue to stand alongside you in your bereavement.
Mr. President, bereaved families. At every time, and even more during these historical times, the IDF is alert and ready to defend the country and its citizens; I am confident that together with you, along with the entire house of Israel and Jews everywhere, we carry the eternal prayer of our people for better days.
Such was the prayer found in the wallet of Major Banya Rein, a tank officer who fell in the Second Lebanon War – "Let us erase wars and bloodshed from the world and that no nation shall lift up sword against nation and nor shall they learn of war anymore.
May the memory of the sons and daughters be blessed.
