Remembering Israel’s fallen
THE Jewish community of Melbourne may be poised to celebrate Israel’s 64th birthday this week, but before the revels get underway, there will be a day of sombre reflection as the country’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror are remembered on Yom Hazikaron.
THE Jewish community of Melbourne may be poised to celebrate Israel’s 64th birthday this week, but before the revels get underway, there will be a day of sombre reflection as the country’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror are remembered on Yom Hazikaron.
This year’s commemoration ties in with a number of solemn anniversaries – 40 years since the terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics, 20 years since the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina, a decade since the Netanya Pesach terrorism attack, and just a month since the shooting spree in Toulouse that killed a rabbi and three children.
Bringing the realities of war home to the community will be former Israeli pilot Noam Gershoni, who was severely wounded in the Second Lebanon War. Now a professional wheelchair tennis player, the 2012 London Paralympics hopeful will address a 1200-strong audience at Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University, Clayton Campus onTuesday evening.
The flagship event is being jointly hosted by the Zionist Council of Victoria, and the Victorian arms of the United Israel Appeal and Jewish National Fund. “It gives us an opportunity to stand united in a sign of solidarity, when the whole community comes together to commemorate Israeli fallen soldiers and victims of terror,” said coordinator Keren Smolarski. “These are people who have sacrificed their lives for the continuation of a state for the Jewish people.”
There will also be a Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut combined tefillah at Mizrachi, run in conjunction with the Council of Orthodox Synagogues Victoria, the Rabbinic Council of Victoria and Bnei Akiva on Wednesday evening.
President of Mizrachi Ian Waller said the stark transition from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut, depicts a poignant “contrast” for the Jewish people.
“In the tefillah, you move from Yom Hazikaron, which is very serious and sombre, to Yom Ha’atzmaut, which is effectively a festival or a chag.
“We think it is appropriate that we are celebrating that very first minute, or moment in a synagogue, especially in Mizrachi, because we support religious Zionism. Yom Ha’atzmaut is not just a historical event and a political event, but it is also a religious event.”
To book tickets for the Yom Hazikaron ceremony at Robert Blackwood Hall on April 24, the Yom Ha’atzmaut Concert at the National Theatre on April 25, or the Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations at Luna Park on April 26, visit: www.zcv.org.au.
TIMNA JACKS
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