At the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv, a state memorial ceremony was held Tuesday in honor of the more than 2,000 IDF soldiers who fell defending Israel during the Yom Kippur War. A representative of the Yad L'Banim organization, dedicated to memorializing Israel's fallen war heroes, and Defense Minister Peretz addressed the assembled crowd, which included veterans and families of the fallen.
Following a recitation of the traditional Kaddish memorial prayer, Yosef Lutenberg, president of Yad L'Banim, spoke of the need "to remember the price paid by the state" for its security. In honor of that memory, Lutenberg called upon Israel's public figures to be examples of moral uprightness, "for that was the last will of the fallen."
In his remarks, Defense Minister Peretz said that Yom Kippur has become more than a day of personal spiritual accounting ever since the 1973 war. However, he noted that the fortitude of the IDF soldiers in that war - which was launched as a surprise attack on two fronts on Judaism's holiest day of the year - turned the tide to such an extent that IDF forces were deep inside enemy territory by the time a ceasefire was arranged. In that regard, Peretz claimed, the outcome of the war was a clarification for Israel's neighbors that the State of Israel was an irreversible fact, with which a peaceful accommodation must be reached.
Peretz went on to link the internal accounting within the military and political echelons after the Yom Kippur War with the one currently underway in the wake of the recent war in Lebanon against the Hizbullah. At the same time, the defense minister warned, the state must be careful not to destroy those symbols that unite Israelis through overzealous criticism. "We have no other army," he emphasized.
Commenting on current threats to the Jewish State, Peretz said:
The ceremony ended with the laying of official wreaths at the site of a Yom Kippur War memorial in the Tel Aviv cemetery.
At Mt. Herzl
Another state ceremony marking 33 years since the Yom Kippur War was held Tuesday in the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Guests of honor in attendance included Pesident Moshe Katzav, Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel and Rishon LeZion Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz.
In his remarks to the families of the fallen soldiers of 1973, Minister Dichter said that there was no room for comparison between the Yom Kippur War and the recent war in Lebanon.
"The State of Israel has never faced a similar danger [as that of 1973] - not before the Yom Kippur War and not after. All those who wish these days to draw a parallel between other wars, including the recent one, and the Yom Kippur War are both wrong and misleading," Dichter said.
A third official ceremony in honor of the fallen soldiers of the 1973 war was held in Haifa's military cemetery.
In one discordant note, the military officer meant to represent the IDF at the Tel Aviv ceremony failed to show up, causing consternation and anger among the families of the fallen soldiers. The officer, a brigadier general, will be called before his commanding officer Wednesday to give an accounting of his actions. Chief of Staff Halutz said the incident is very serious and he offered his sincere apologies to the families that may have been offended by the absence of an official IDF representative at the ceremony.
In Jerusalem, another unpleasant incident was noted when Kineret Barashi, the attorney representing a woman who has accused President Katzav of sexual misconduct - he denies the charges - demonstratively left the memorial ceremony when the president arrived.
Following a recitation of the traditional Kaddish memorial prayer, Yosef Lutenberg, president of Yad L'Banim, spoke of the need "to remember the price paid by the state" for its security. In honor of that memory, Lutenberg called upon Israel's public figures to be examples of moral uprightness, "for that was the last will of the fallen."
In his remarks, Defense Minister Peretz said that Yom Kippur has become more than a day of personal spiritual accounting ever since the 1973 war. However, he noted that the fortitude of the IDF soldiers in that war - which was launched as a surprise attack on two fronts on Judaism's holiest day of the year - turned the tide to such an extent that IDF forces were deep inside enemy territory by the time a ceasefire was arranged. In that regard, Peretz claimed, the outcome of the war was a clarification for Israel's neighbors that the State of Israel was an irreversible fact, with which a peaceful accommodation must be reached.
Peretz went on to link the internal accounting within the military and political echelons after the Yom Kippur War with the one currently underway in the wake of the recent war in Lebanon against the Hizbullah. At the same time, the defense minister warned, the state must be careful not to destroy those symbols that unite Israelis through overzealous criticism. "We have no other army," he emphasized.
Commenting on current threats to the Jewish State, Peretz said:
"Evil winds are still blowing in our region. The Syrian president speaks of peace and war in the same breath, Iran is arming with nuclear weapons and making threats, Hizbullah terrorism is lying in wait, and Palestinian terror is raging. That is why we must stand guard and provide security for Israel's citizens, and forcefully ensure [the state's] existence and safety. Our moral advantage is what keeps us ahead of our enemies, and we won't stop aiming for peace until we get there."Peretz concluded his remarks with words of consolation for the families of the fallen IDF soldiers and with an expression of hope that soldiers currently held captive by the enemy return home safely.
The ceremony ended with the laying of official wreaths at the site of a Yom Kippur War memorial in the Tel Aviv cemetery.
At Mt. Herzl
Another state ceremony marking 33 years since the Yom Kippur War was held Tuesday in the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. Guests of honor in attendance included Pesident Moshe Katzav, Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel and Rishon LeZion Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz.
In his remarks to the families of the fallen soldiers of 1973, Minister Dichter said that there was no room for comparison between the Yom Kippur War and the recent war in Lebanon.
"The State of Israel has never faced a similar danger [as that of 1973] - not before the Yom Kippur War and not after. All those who wish these days to draw a parallel between other wars, including the recent one, and the Yom Kippur War are both wrong and misleading," Dichter said.
A third official ceremony in honor of the fallen soldiers of the 1973 war was held in Haifa's military cemetery.
In one discordant note, the military officer meant to represent the IDF at the Tel Aviv ceremony failed to show up, causing consternation and anger among the families of the fallen soldiers. The officer, a brigadier general, will be called before his commanding officer Wednesday to give an accounting of his actions. Chief of Staff Halutz said the incident is very serious and he offered his sincere apologies to the families that may have been offended by the absence of an official IDF representative at the ceremony.
In Jerusalem, another unpleasant incident was noted when Kineret Barashi, the attorney representing a woman who has accused President Katzav of sexual misconduct - he denies the charges - demonstratively left the memorial ceremony when the president arrived.