Two days of reflection and celebration began in Israel last night as Israelis remember fallen soldiers and terror victims on Memorial Day before celebrating Independence Day tomorrow.
A one-minute siren marked the start of the Yom Hazikaron ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, to honour the 23, 447 fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism. President Reuven Rivlin lit a memorial torch before addressing the audience.
He said: “Last year, as I stood before you… I sought to dream. I prayed that maybe, from that Memorial Day to this one, I won’t have to visit any more homes of families whose world just fell apart… But this year, too, we were hit with the harsh reality.”
He added: “For over 68 years, we’ve been fighting the same war – the war for our independence.”
