See Israelis marking Yom HaZikaron since 1950

ANT KATZ

The above video, submitted by Rolene Marks, is very moving. 

The following article includes titbits and historical information between the pictures – so users are advised to ensure that they are the bottom of the page before leaving it.

Yom HaZikaron falls each year on the fourth of Iyar. The day was established in 1951 and first commemorated in 1952. Prior to that, soldiers were remembered on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.

Because most Jewish Israelis serve in the army, and few families have not suffered wartime losses, the day is widely observed.

ABOVE: Israeli scouts of the Modiin Tribe during a ceremony commemorating the fallen Israeli soldiers, on the eve of the Israeli Memorial Day at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, April 21, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

 Also read on this website:
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO FELL FOR ISRAEL

 ABOVE: Ceremony at Kiryat Atta, circa 1950. (Kiryat Atta Museum/PikiWiki Israel)

The History of Yom HaZikaron

In 1949 and 1950, the first two years after the declaration of the State of Israel, memorial services for soldiers who fell in the War of Independence were held on Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut). Services at military cemeteries in Israel were coordinated between the IDF and the Ministry of Defence.

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ABOVE: Ceremony outside the office of the Beit Shemesh Regional Council, circa 1960. (PikiWiki Israel)

HISTORY CONTINUED: A concern arose, expressed by families of fallen soldiers, to establish a separate Memorial Day observance distinct from the festive celebrations of national independence. In response, and in light of public debate on the issue, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion – also serving as Minister of Defence at the time – established in January 1951 the “Public Council for Soldiers’ Commemoration.”

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ABOVE: Women soldiers marching in a Yom Ha Zikaron parade in 1968. (PikiWiki Israel)

HISTORY CONTINUED: This council recommended establishing the 4th of Iyar, the day proceeding Independence Day, as the “General Memorial Day for the Heroes of the War of Independence”.

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ABOVE: A young Israeli soldier places a rose among the names of those soldiers who have fallen for the State of Israel, on the Memorial Day Ceremony at Latrun Armoured Corps Museum, 2003. (Sharon Perry/Flash90)

HISTORY CONTINUED: The proposal was approved by the Knesset in the same year and first commemorated in 1952.

Yom HaZikaron falls each year on the fourth of Iyar. The day was established in 1951 — before that, soldiers were remembered on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.

/continued after next two pictures

ABOVE: An Israeli bereaved brother kisses his brother’s grave on Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem in preparation for Israel’s marking of Memorial Day, April 22, 2007. (Orel Cohen /Flash90)

ABOVE: An Israeli soldier stands next to the grave of an Israeli fallen soldier on Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, May 5, 2008. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

HISTORY CONCLUDED: Because most Jewish Israelis serve in the army, and few families have not suffered wartime losses, the day is widely observed.