UPDATES 6 pm Israel time Sunday:
As Yom Hazikaron winds down in Israel today, it is soon to be followed by modern Israel’s 65th Independence Day.
Among the discordant notes sounded today by some on the Israeli left was a demonstration in Tel Aviv that compared IDF soldiers to PLO and Hamas terrorists. The same demonstration sadly commemorated the terrorists who had been killed by the IDF while trying to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel. Yes you read that right–the Israeli left has spent the afternoon praising those who are trying to murder Israelis.
TODAY’S BLOG:
A mother’s love at the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl.
The numbers tell the story:
23,085 soldiers have been killed in the defense of Israel since 1860.
In the last year 92 defenders have been added to the list: 37 IDF soldiers and 12 members of the Israeli security agencies lost their lives, and another 43 IDF disabled veterans died as a result of wounds they suffered in battle.
Remembering the dead.
There are more than 17,533 “relatives of the fallen” in Israel–parents, spouses, and children under the age 30.
There are almost 5000 Israeli IDF widows–women whose husbands died in service.
There are more than 2000 IDF orphans.
Putting flags on the graves of the fallen.
Many Israeli families have gone to military cemeteries today to remember their loved ones or to thank those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. There are 555 soldiers whose bodies were never found and whose burial place is not known.
Another 2,493 Israeli civilians have died as a result of terrorist activities since the end of the War for Independence. 10 civilians died this year.
Your humble servant offers his sincere condolences to the families of those who have died. May Israel’s honored dead rest in peace.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.