A Week of Mourning

This past week has been a heavy week on Israel’s shoulders. In a matter of seven days Israel honors Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZicharon (Memorial Day), and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day).

Since August I’ve had Israelis and Americans alike telling me how special it will be to be here in Israel during this time. In August all the rage was to talk about how special it feels during the High Holidays, but once they passed the anticipation for May began.

Last Thursday we paid tribute to the Holocaust. Wednesday evening everything shut down. All restaurants, shops and stores are mandated by law to shut down that evening, and the day of remembrance was marked by a minute long siren that rings throughout the country. Even soldiers training in the middle of the desert can hear this dull gnawing sound. The following morning stores operated as normal, but at 10am a two minute long siren rang and everything stopped for a moment of silence.

It was the most true moment of silence I’ve ever experience. People stopped walking on the sidewalk and cars pulled over on the side of the road so that passengers could climb out and join everyone else. For that two minute period everything ceased to exist. It felt like I was in a movie that paused the present. As if that is actually possible. As the siren ends, it fades slowly and gnaws a little bit more. As silence approached people began to reactivate and return to normality. Such a bizarre sensation. Very Big Brother like.

Almost all television programming revolved around World War II and the Holocaust, and most radio stations played music to match the tone of the day. It definitely drew attention to a strong connection between the catastrophe of the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel and made it very poignant how the aftermath strongly affects the identity of Israelis.

Fast forward to yesterday… the eve of Israel’s Memorial Day, which could not be more different from Memorial Day Stateside: a long weekend and excuse to pack coolers and hit the beach. Here, the entire country goes into mourning. By entire country, I obviously mean all Israelis who support Israel… Traditionally it has been a day dedicated to all soldiers who have fallen during wars or attacks, but in recent years it has added another category of people: victims of acts of terror.

Last night was also marked by a minute long siren which caught me on my way to Rabin Square for a Memorial Service. Again everything stopped. I continued my walk and accidentally (honestly) slipped into a VIP section of seating for the ceremony and waited for the flames to light all around the stage. It was an evening of singers, instruments, words by family members, and mourning. After that I trained out to Modiin to experience today with Michal’s family, my family away from home. I feel lucky to have spent the day with the Duvdevani family, a family deeply passionate about the Israeli Defense Forces and the existence of Israel. Hearing Michal’s father tell the story of her grandfather firsthand in front of his grave helped me tie together a few more loose ends regarding where Israelis are coming from. Especially Michal.