On Wednesday morning, Israel's Memorial Day, Tamar Shachar (92), visited Gush Etzion and the Lone Oak Tree with her family, for the first time ever, to see where her brother Yosef (Yoske) Nadav was killed in the 1948 battle defending Gush Etzion.
Tamar was a soldier in the Fifth Battalion of the Harel Brigade (Palmach), and accompanied convoys to Jerusalem during that time.
“The visit of Tamar and her family and the story of Yoske Nadav are a valued connection of our heritage to this land and symbolize our resurrection,” Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman said.
Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) is the day on which Israelis remember those killed in terror attacks and all of the Israeli soldiers lost in battle.
In Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, Gush Etzion residents paid tribute to those heroes who fell in battle or were taken prisoners of war while defending the Gush, on May 13, 1948, the eve of the establishment of the State.
In attendance at the memorial ceremony held at the Gush Etzion Cemetery were MK attorney Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism), Lt. Col Yaki Abergil of the Etzion Brigade, and Shlomo Ne’eman, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, along with the bereaved families and thousands of guests who arrived to show their support for those lost in battle.
Following the ceremony, Shachar and her family paid a visit to the Gush Etzion Heritage Center.
In his remarks at the ceremony, MK Rothman, a resident of Pnei Kedem in southeastern Gush Etzion, paid tribute to Zvi Lifshitz and Yechezkel Berlovitz, counselors from the “Religious Guard” movement from South Africa who fell defending Gush Etzion. He also paid tribute to Ari Fuld, who was murdered by an Arab terrorist at the Gush Junction two years ago.
Rothman said: “There is no place like Gush Etzion which represents a connection between Memorial Day and Independence Day, between fighters who fell defending our country and the development and settling of the Land of Israel.”
Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman added during the ceremony: “The tombstones of our soldiers here are the cornerstones of the building of our nation. Each of us has a private tombstone and memorial candle that pertains to him or her. But it is important to remember on this day, and especially at this time, that there is one flag which belongs to all of us which is lowered, and tonight we will raise it to the top, symbolizing the resurrection of our kingdom.”