Families left in cold after army cancels ceremony without notifying them

Families and friends of paratroopers killed in Israel’s wars were surprised to discover Wednesday that the annual remembrance ceremony at the brigade’s memorial site had been canceled without prior notice.

Israel was marking its Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror with ceremonies at memorial sites and cemeteries across the country when, as in previous years, families and friends of fallen soldiers arrived at the paratrooper memorial site near the Tel Nof airbase  in central Israel. They were dismayed to find only an honorary guard of two soldiers.

Naftalie Cohen, who fought as a paratrooper in the Six Day War, told Maariv of the disappointment that families felt when they realized that there would be no ceremony.

“It has become a tradition that the bereaved families gather to meet with friends and hold an emotional ceremony together,” Cohen said. “This year when we arrived we saw that no chairs had been laid out and we thought it was to save money. Then, as we came closer, we could see that there was no stage and no ceremony prepared. There were bereaved families there who said it was a disgrace.”

In an effort to nonetheless mark the occasion, those in attendance read the Kaddish prayer for the dead and the Yizkor remembrance prayer before dispersing.

Israel Radio reported that the incident ws being looked into by defense authorities.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz later expressed his regret over the incident.