PM urges ‘rising above rifts’ on Memorial Day

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, addressing the central observance of Memorial Day Wednesday, called on Israelis to unite in memory of the nation’s fallen soldiers, vowing to „protect our small scrap of land” and to do all he could to speed the attainment of peace. „Today is a day of remembrance and of unity,” he said. „A day to rise above all the day-to-day divisions” in honoring „the virtue of our heroes and the fallen in our wars.” Wednesday’s Memorial Day events began with the sounding of a two-minute siren at 11 A.M., and were then followed by ceremonies at military cemeteries throughout the country, in remembrance of the 20,368 victims of wars and acts of terror since the country was founded in 1948. Over the past year, 169 soldiers and 63 civilians were killed, most in attacks by Palestinians. „The fellowship of grief has no difference of religion, sector and place,” Sharon said. „The memory of the fallen was never and will never be forgotten.” The observance of Memorial Day, which began Tuesday night, will end after dark on Wednesday, as the solemnity of the observances gives way to celebrations of Israel’s 57th Independence Day. „Today – while you are on your way to the cemeteries, I hope to accompany you with two promises,” Sharon told bereaved families in his statement for Memorial Day. „To continue and protect our small scrap of land with all our strength and to do everything in our power to bring about peace as fast as possible.” „Israelis look upon this year’s memorial day with a combination of pain and hope,” David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office, told Haaretz on Wednesday. „We remember the sacrifices our country’s fallen have made in order to carve out and maintain a state for the Jewish people. But we also look to the future with hope for our next generation.” In a statement marking the day, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said it was „saddening that we are forced to buy our freedom for such an unbearable price.” „The line of the fallen in Israel’s wars is very long, but the line of the bereaved is seven-fold longer, because every fallen [soldier] left behind him a loving family and a warm home – parents, relatives, wives and children, all grief stricken.” Katsav: Terror has made civilians into soldiers In a Wednesday afternoon ceremony honoring the victims of Palestinian terrorism, Katsav said that the number of Israeli civilians slain by terrorists since the outbreak of the Intifada in late 2000 was equal to the entire death toll from the establishment of the state in 1948 until 2000. The president said that terrorism has accompanied the Jews of Israel from the inception of the Zionist movement, „but it has broken all records in recent years, as the war passed from the battlefield to the home front, the street, the houses, restaurants, hotels, and hitchhiking stations. „When it became clear to them that they could not overcome our army, they chose to spill the blood of Israel’s citizens in the streets, they chose to confront defenseless, unarmed citizens.” „In recent years, terror has turned the citizens of Israel into soldiers.” Ceremonies began Tuesday evening Ceremonies commemorating the fallen began Tuesday evening with the main service at the Western Wall Plaza, where Katsav lit a memorial flame and addressed bereaved families. Sirens wailed across the country for one minute at 8 P.M., and most of Israel came to complete halt. As the sirens began, traffic came to a standstill, drivers stood next to their cars and pedestrians stopped walking, many standing at attention or with their heads bowed. Katsav and Ya’alon led the Western Wall ceremony, recalling Israel’s military losses over more than five generations. BPI-info