[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — From sadness to joy within a matter of seconds, this has been a bittersweet week. From visiting cemeteries and standing at attention when the sirens went off once again only one week after Holocaust Memorial Day, but this time in remembrance of victims of terror and those soldiers and citizens who lost their lives protecting Israel, to fireworks and dancing in the streets in celebration of the 63rd birthday of the State of Israel, Israeli Remembrance (Memorial) Day and Independence Day rolled into one another at sundown the other day.
Since last year's commemoration, 183 Israelis have lost their lives in terror attacks or as soldiers in the line of duty. Although it does not sound like a large number, in relation to Israel's population, slightly over half the size of Los Angeles County, and considering there is supposed to be a “cease fire” in existence, 183 lives is a significant number. Almost 23,000 Israelis have lost their lives on behalf of Israel in the last 63 years. So sirens are blasted, memorial candles are lit, and families trek to cemeteries and memorial services throughout the country to visit the graves of loved ones. It is said that there is not one family in Israel who has not lost a relative or friend in the fight for Israel's existence.
Yet Israelis go from tears of sadness to tears of joy at sundown when Memorial Day becomes Independence Day. Flags hang from windows and balconies, streamers hang across intersections, streets are cordoned off to allow dancing and festivities, and the smell of barbecues fill the air. Cars honked as they drove by, little Israeli flags flying in the breeze from car windows. I even observed an Israeli flag draped down the side of an apartment building, seven stories high and approximately 6 feet wide. Two giant flags hung from my apartment living room and bedroom windows as well as a string of 10 small flags draped across my windows on the side of my apartment. At night, fireworks and rifles shot into the sky while during the day people visited family and friends for barbecues and flocked to beaches for the air show, similar to that of the U.S. Navy's famous Blue Angels aerobatic flight demonstration squadron.
When it was all over, the next day was that of sorrow once again as I learned of the deaths of two friends, within hours of one another. It has been an emotional week for me.
L'hitraot. Shachar
