Military headstones to allow religious phrases, defense minister says

Following an outcry, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant authorizes the addition of the phrase “God will avenge his/her death” to military headstones of fallen soldiers whose families request it.

The decision follows complaints by the relatives of Cpt. Yisrael Yudkin, a Haredi soldier who fell in Gaza on May 22, to add to his military headstone in Jerusalem the Hebrew letters Hey, Yud and Daled, which stand for Hashem Yikom Damo, a standard formulation in religious circles for people who died because they were Jewish.

Multiple lawmakers, including ones from the coalition, are on record as criticizing the Defense Ministry and the Israel Defense Forces’ initial refusal to allow the acronym to be added.

A committee set up by Gallant to address the issue recommended allowing that acronym or phrase, as well as zichrono/zichrona l’vracha, or zaiyn, lamed, meaning “of blessed memory,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson says.

For many Israelis, the initial controversy over the acronym underscores the need for the defense establishment to accommodate the needs of Haredi and other observant troops amid demands for greater participation on their part in the burden of military or national service.