Prison guards to get military treatment on Memorial Day

Prison guards will now be included in the official ceremonial prayers of mourning on Israel’s memorial day, and members of the Shin Bet and Mossad security agencies will be allowed military burials, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak signed the official papers Sunday morning, ending a long-standing sore point among members of non-military security services who traditionally were not buried in army cemeteries or mentioned in official memorial services even if they died while on duty.

The decision states that members of the Shin Bet, Mossad and police can from now on be buried legally in military cemeteries. Many had previously been interred illegally. In addition, they will be mentioned in the same breath as fallen soldiers on the national memorial day.

Barak had recently received recommendations for these measures from a public forum composed of 29 people from the Defense Ministry, police, and representatives of bereaved families

Eli Ben Yishai, chairperson of Yad Labanim, an organization commemorating fallen soldiers, said the decision was a hard one, but was sensible and moral.

Barak said the Defense Ministry was preparing for the upcoming memorial day, Yom Hazikaron, in May, and that it would continue to support the families of those who died all year round.

There was a resurgence of public debate over the recognition of members of the Prison Service  when a busload of cadets died during the Carmel forest fire in late 2010. Last week it was announced that the cadets would be posthumously honored.