Memorial Day ceremony in Gush Etzion
Memorial Day ceremony in Gush EtzionGush Etzion Regional Council

MK and former Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) spoke at the annual Gush Etzion Yom Ha’zikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) ceremony Tuesday.

Due to the regulations imposed by the Ministry of Health as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the annual Gush Etzion Yom Ha’zikaron remembrance ceremony was held and recorded in the Kfar Etzion Cemetery yesterday, and was aired this morning. The event was a collaboration between the Gush Etzion Municipality, the Gush Religious Council, and Efrat Municipality.

In addition to remarks given by former Knesset speaker MK Yuli Edelstein, Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman, along with bereaved families and residents of Gush Etzion also spoke at the event.

Edelstein said, “Our dear bereaved families, our cherished Gush Etzion residents, today we are all together, but only in our hearts. Because of the distance we are far apart from each other, each person in his or her home, but our arms want to hug each other, and hug all of the family members of the bereaved.”

He added, “We are not in the Gush Etzion Cemetery for the first time, and each time that I pass through the graves here, I am reminded that this place is sacred. That’s because the IDF soldiers and the victims of terrorism buried here, in the full sense of the word showed us the way in their lives and deaths. In their lives they flourished on the land in the Gush and lived here, transforming the Gush and the area into the region we all recognize today. And in their deaths, they represent the fight for the revival of the nation and the land. Fighting terror, they gave up their precious lives so that we can continue to live and develop.”

Edelstein also said, “Our dear bereaved families, may we go through this complex period together, despite being apart. May other families not be added to the large bereaved family in the State of Israel. May the memories of the fallen be blessed forever.”

Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman added:

“This is a strange and peculiar Yom Ha’zikaron ceremony with very few people in attendance. This ceremony is particularly painful. We are all staying away from the cemetery in order to fulfill the mitzvah of preserving lives. But the soldiers who are buried here, the heroes, gave their lives in the sanctification of G-d’s name, and to defend our people and our land selflessly.

On this day, we remember those who fell, so that we can have a future here. Exactly 72 years ago, the defenders of Gush Etzion who fell, established this day (Yom Ha’zikaron) for the entire nation. And we stand here today on the eve of our Independence, and remember, and look forward to our future, a future and its foundation which is sanctified through your blood and sacrifice. The entire nation thanks you for it. And the nation lives. Am Yisrael Chai, and Medinat Yisrael Chai.”