Published in Israel 365 News (Original article)
Israelis marked the start of an especially challenging Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) at a powerful and emotional ceremony held in Jerusalem that focused on unity.
Over 3,000 people filled Jerusalem’s International Convention Center to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to the country. The evening focused on the bonds of brothers: brothers in arms, brothers in life, and brothers in healing. Families of fallen soldiers and victims of terror shared personal stories – each one heartbreaking – serving as a testament to Israel’s spirit of resilience and a reminder that these heroes will never be forgotten.
A dramatic Declaration of Unity was filmed onstage as the entire hall stood to recite the pledge in unison: “We call on the People of Israel and Jews from all corners of the world to remember: We are brothers! The blood of our fallen cries out from the ground. They fell alongside one another, religious, secular, left, and right. We will rise up and live together…Am Yisrael Chai.”
More than 600 soldiers and 700 citizens were killed on or since October 7, making this the deadliest year for the country since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The OneFamily ceremony, co-sponsored by Mizrahi and the World Zionist Organization, addressed the impact this has had on the day, on the country – and on the entire Jewish world.
Shira Mark, who suffered tremendous personal loss, remembered her family members with an emotional tribute. Her father, Rabbi Miki Mark, was murdered in a 2016 terror attack that also severely injured her mother. Just three years later, her older brother Shlomi was killed in a car accident while on his way to work at the Prime Minister’s Office. Shira tragically lost her younger brother, Pedaya, a platoon commander with the Givati Brigade, who was killed in a rocket explosion in Gaza on October 31 cousin, and her cousin, Elhanan Meir Kalmanson, who was killed on October 8 while defending Kibbutz Be’eri.
Meitav and Inbal Journo talk about Karin Journo, who was killed at the Nova festival (Photo courtesy)
“Dad, Shlomi, Elhanan, and Pedaya, you’re gone, but your light continues. I know you fought for life, so how can’t I?” An emotional Shira said. “During Pedaya’s funeral, some camera was pointed at me, and I said, amongst the tears, ‘We have a love, and it will arise. We have a love, and it will win.’”
Uri Ben-Harush (center) and Shira Mark pay tribute to the family members they’ve lost (Photo courtesy)
Joining her was Uri Ben-Harush, whose brother Shoham Moshe Ben-Harush died of wounds sustained in battle on October 7. “You may be gone, but we remember. You showed us that even in the darkest time, you can find a spark of light.”
Meitav Journo lost her sister Karin, murdered at the Nova Festival. “Losing a sister feels like someone has taken a part of your heart and won’t ever give it back,” she said. Appearing alongside their mother, Inbal, Meitav continued, “Losing a sister is losing your parents, who will never be the same again. Losing my sister is losing myself.”
Live musical performances by Yonatan Razel and the OneFamily Bereaved Fathers Choir gave melody and voice to the sorrow felt in the auditorium and throughout the country. Razel played songs of relevance to those fallen, including a moving rendition of Yossi Hershkovitz’s tune for Psalm 23. He performed it alongside Colonel Golan Vach, who comes from a famous Israeli musical family, and shared the story behind the tune, which Hershkovitz shared with him late one night while on guard duty in Gaza.
“Perhaps the most profound thing that I’ve learned in the last six or seven months is how pride and pain live together,” Mizrahi CEO Rabbi Doron Perez said in a video message. His son Daniel, a Division Commander in the 77th Battalion, fell in battle on October 7, and his body remains held in Gaza. Just ten days after Daniel was declared missing, the Perez family married off another son, Yonatan, who was injured in battle. “I’ve come to see that we are part of this story of hope… The Jewish people will prevail. Am Yisrael Chai.”
Colonel Golan Vach sings a duet with Yonatan Razel in tribute to Yossi Hershkovitz (Photo courtesy)
In a statement, Chantal Belzberg, CEO of OneFamily, said, “Bereaved families experience their own Yom HaZikaron each and every day. It is our moral responsibility to support them as they personally bear the price our people pay for having a Jewish state. We embrace these families and are with them, hand-in-hand, in a journey that will last a lifetime.”
Attendees included several seminaries from abroad, incoming Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon, Member of Knesset Idit Silman, and Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli. The in-person ceremony was also live-streamed with English subtitles, viewed live by thousands joining online around the world. The recording remains available on Youtube.
As of this Yom HaZikaron, a total of 30,134 Israelis have lost their lives to war and terror attacks since 1860. Yom HaZikaron ends Monday evening.
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OneFamily is Israel’s leading organization supporting victims of terror and their families. It provides critical short—and long-term emotional, financial, and rehabilitative assistance to those impacted by terrorism, a number that has more than doubled since October 7th. OneFamily was recently named one of the 2024 recipients of the prestigious Genesis Prize.
