IDF chief: It is our duty to remember the fallen

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot published an order Wednesday in honor of Israeli Memorial Day, saying it was every Israeli’s duty to remember the country’s 23,320 fallen soldiers and terror victims.

“We, leaders of the IDF and its soldiers, stand today and salute our comrades, our commanders and our subordinates who fell while completing their missions. The fallen are among the best of the country’s sons and daughters,” he wrote.

“We, who are left missing [them], carry their memory and feel the pain of the emptiness they left behind. The memorial monuments across the country are a silent testament to the battles and challenges Israel has known, a testament to the stories of heroism and victory and our promise to remember the fallen. It is our duty to commemorate their life stories and the good examples of their deeds,” he went on.

At 11:00am on Wednesday, a two-minute siren will sound to commemorate the day, in which most Israelis stand silently, stopping wherever they are, to remember the fallen.

At 10:30am, an official ceremony at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery north of Tel Aviv was set to begin, while another official memorial ceremony will be held at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem and will be attended by Eisenkot, as well as senior Israel Defense Forces officers and politicians.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, a separate commemoration for Israel’s terror victims will take place at Mount Herzl.

Israeli Memorial Day began Tuesday evening, and a one-minute siren sounded at 8 p.m.to mark the occasion.

In Jerusalem, President Reuven Rivlin opened Israel’s national Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall with a plea for Israelis to fight for the country’s character, not just its survival.

Speaking moments after the traditional minute-long siren brought the country to a standstill, the president urged Israelis to consider the meaning of the sacrifice of the nation’s 23,320 fallen, calling on all Israelis to honor their memory by fighting for the “essence and idea for which the State of Israel was established.”

“The deaths of those who died defending our home force us to deepen our commitment to building that home as a more just home, a more compassionate home, a home where not only those who have fallen, but all those within it are equal,” Rivlin said.

The president spoke shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address at Jerusalem’s Yad Labanim memorial to fallen soldiers, in which he said the Jewish people have no future without the state of Israel.

The president reflected on the pain of loss which unites Israelis across the country, which he encountered while visiting the families of the 67 IDF soldiers who were killed in last summer’s Gaza war.

“The geography of pain, as I learned, stretched the length and breadth of the country, yet it did not divide it. Death struck at the door of many, regardless of their religious beliefs. No camp was left untouched by death,” he said.

While Israel must work to prevent future wars, Rivlin said that it was equally obligated by the current reality to be prepared for the next conflict.

Eisenkot said the Western Wall, before which he spoke, represented the “great history of our people, and to the ability of the people of Israel to build and grow, to defend ourselves and to fight for our existence as a united, independent and strong people.”

“Our soldiers stand shoulder to shoulder, united in determination and courage, in the face of enemies north and south, and work together by land, air and sea at all times to strengthen the security of the state,” he added.

Memorial Day will end abruptly at sundown Wednesday with the start of Independence Day, traditionally ushered in with fireworks and street celebrations nationwide.