A memorial, termed by its architect Yosef Asa as “The Wall of Broken Hearts,” will be dedicated Sunday in memory of fallen Golani soldiers at the Golani Junction in the Lower Galilee.
Asa, who fought in three wars with the famed Golani Brigade, said that one of the most difficult tasks in his life was deciding how much space to leave on the memorial for names of future fallen soldiers, Heaven forbid. ”It is almost inhuman,” he said.
The memorial, unlike the more traditional one-walldesigns, consists of pieces of eight walls in memory of 1,435 Golani soldiers who have fallen. The Brigade carries a long history of bravery and courage and has raised leading generals, including outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
The walls consist of shards of stone, and Asa explained he wanted to bring out the message of the pain for relatives and friends of the fallen soldiers. The sixth wall includes the word “to their merit,” with space remaining between the phrase and the name of the last fallen soldier to date.
“This was very difficult for me,” added Asa. “I fought in Lebanon as a Golani soldier, and I am part of the Golani family.”
The Golani symbol appears on the seventh wall, and on the last wall appears a verse from the Bible asking that the Creator guard and protect the names and the place of the fallen soldiers.