Protesting cemetery closures, bereaved families mark 2-minute silence at IKEA
Furniture mega-stores became a symbol of inconsistency in coronavirus regulations when they were allowed to reopen last week while many smaller businesses remained shuttered
Amid anger over the decision to close military cemeteries while at the same time allowing various shops and public spaces remain open, some bereaved families were planning to mark this year’s Memorial Day with ceremonies at IKEA furniture mega-stores around the country.
Amid ongoing efforts to stem the coronavirus outbreak, Israelis Tuesday were observing a unique Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and those killed in terror attacks.
The nation’s military cemeteries were closed down for the first time in the country’s history, forcing ceremonies to be held without audiences and mourners to remember their loved ones at home alone.
Some families, friends and comrades of fallen soldiers and terror victims, however, said they would mark Tuesday’s two-minute silence with small, impromptu ceremonies at IKEA stores, which became a symbol of the disparity in the regulations when they were allowed to reopen last week while many smaller businesses remained shuttered.
While police deployed Tuesday to block access roads and the entrances to military cemeteries and memorial sites ahead of the 11 a.m. memorial siren, Israelis will be able to shop in most stores as long as they adhere to guidelines on hygiene, protective gear and social distancing.
But even as malls remains closed, the huge IKEA stores have been allowed to open and were given the green light before many other stores.
Speaking on Army Radio Tuesday morning, Galit Katzaf, whose brother was killed 20 years ago, said she and her family would be at the IKEA store in the central city of Rishon Lezion, where they planned to hold a small ceremony to say the Kaddish memorial prayer.
“I got angry when they said they would put police at the entrance to cemeteries,” Katzaf said.
“Putting cops at the cemeteries is a mistake. If police are to be put anywhere, they should be at our leaders’ doorways,” she said, slamming a number of high profile politicians, including the prime minister and the president, who broke restrictions put in place over the Passover festival and spent time with their families.
Katzaf said the ceremony was both a protest and “a chance to mark our national bereavement together, where we are allowed to.”
Forty-two Israeli soldiers and members of other security agencies were killed since last Memorial Day, and the number of Israeli casualties of war stands at 23,816, according to figures released by the Defense Ministry on Friday.
