Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers

Israel’s Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers, also known as "Yom HaZikaron" in Hebrew, is celebrated one day before Israel’s Independence Day. It is devoted to the memory of those who have given their lives so that the State of Israel can exist today.

On this day the flags are flown at half-mast throughout the country. The families of the fallen participate in memorial ceremonies at military cemeteries.

Memorial Day commemorations officially begin in the evening at 8 P.M. with the sound of siren and a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Israel's President and the Army Chief of Staff Mofaz usually speak at the ceremony. All movie theaters and places of entertainment are closed.

A siren sounds at 11 o'clock in the morning for two minutes, and ceremonies are held in every school and at 42 military cemeteries, with government ministers and Knesset members speaking at various locations.

During the sirens the whole country comes to a standstill - people stop working, children stop playing and even the drivers stop driving. Everyone stands at attention in silence as the siren wails in memory of the fallen. It is a very difficult and very emotional day for the Israeli people as almost every household knows someone who died in one of the wars.

There are a lot of museums and other establishments and their goal is to protect all the memories and events so that the next generations will never forget them and will always remember what they did for us and our country. Some examples for this kind of establishments are: the Latrun Museum, it contains the names of the fallen soldiers and the second example is our school, near to the library there is a small room especially designed to honor the memory of all the fallen soldiers who have ever studied in this school.

“Israel remembers the many young soldiers who have given their lives

so the country could exist

and we will always remember what they did for us”