Rivlin: ‘We will not cease’ until all missing soldiers have been returned

President Reuven Rivlin speaks during the state ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem for Memorial Day, sending his condolences to families of fallen soldiers and terror victims.

“Our wellbeing is bound up in yours,” Rivlin says. “I know that you think and believe that we do not understand. That we will never understand… But today, we ask you – despite everything – to tell us.”

“Tell us about her, about him, tell us about the person. Take us to that space which is so full, crammed full, that they left behind in your hearts. Allow us to remember them,” he adds.

Rivlin turns to the return last month of the remains of Brooklyn-born IDF soldier American Zachary Baumel, who was killed in fighting during the 1982 First Lebanon War.

“In this way, the State of Israel kept its promise to every mother and father in Israel, the obligation to bring home the men and women who did not return from battle. This is a commitment that we continue to make to the families of every one of the missing soldiers of the IDF and those fallen soldiers whose place of burial is unknown,” the president says.

“We will not cease until they have all been brought back.”

Rivlin adds that Israel is also committed to “the promise that the state that we have been building here for almost 71 years will be a country fit for our children and grandchildren – strong and secure, and at the same time just and fair.”

“These two promises, to build by the sweat of our brow a life worth living for our children, quiet and secure and to bring them home even if they did not return from battle, these are the commitments at the heart of our lives here… They are the basis of the Israeli covenant,” he says.