WATCH: Masa holds thousands-strong English-language memorial ceremony

An English-language memorial ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers is taking place at the Latrun Armored Corps Memorial west of Jerusalem.

The ceremony, organized by Masa, a year-long program in Israel for college-age diaspora Jews, is attended by some 4,000 Masa participants, as well as Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who also serves as diaspora minister.

Jewish leaders from the US and other countries are also taking part in the ceremony, which “will largely focus on the various contributions of Israel’s fallen lone soldiers,” many of whom hail from diaspora communities, Masa says in a statement.

According to the press release, “the opening ceremony will include the lighting of the torch by the family of Sgt. Sean Carmeli, a lone IDF soldier from Texas who was killed during the 2014 war with Hamas in Gaza, along with representatives from the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Masa will also remember soldiers of French and Russian descent, as well as Michael Levin, a lone soldier who was killed during the Second Lebanon War after moving to Israel from Pennsylvania, and Ezra Schwartz, a Masa participant and Massachusetts native who was studying at Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh when he was killed in a 2015 shooting attack while traveling to a volunteer activity.”

“The commemoration will end with reflections from Elyasaf Peretz, the brother of Eliraz and Uriel Peretz, who were both killed in combat in Gaza and Lebanon in 2010 and 1998, respectively. Peretz will discuss how he and his family have coped with Yom Hazikaron each year since the family’s loss.”

The ceremony is also being streamed live on Masa’s Facebook page.