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Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Lapid: Memorial Day is for entire country to show bereaved families it remembers fallen too
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Memorial Day is not necessary for the families of fallen Israeli soldiers to remember their loved ones, who are always with them, but rather to provide the rest of the country the opportunity to show them that they remember as well, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares at the Herzliya military cemetery.
“Bereaved families do not need Memorial Day to remember. There isn’t a day they don’t remember. The problem isn’t today, it’s all the other days,” he says.
“For those standing here, 364 days a year are [also] Memorial Day. You didn’t come to the cemetery today to remember. You don’t need a ceremony to remember. You came so that we could tell you that we haven’t forgotten. That the State of Israel remembers. That the State of Israel bows its head before its dead and before their families, and we swear to do everything to be worthy of them.”
The Times of Israel Community.