Memorial Day Eve 2026: The State of Israel came to a standstill to unite with the memory of the fallen of Israel's systems and victims of hostilities. Among them were 3,000 young men and women from around the world, who are studying in Yeshivas and Midrashas in Israel as part of Masa programs, who gathered on Monday evening at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem for a joint memorial ceremony. The event, initiated by the Department for Zionist Jewish Identity of the World Zionist Organization, was intended for English-speaking students and emphasized the connection between Diaspora Jewry and the Israeli Memorial Day.
The ceremony focused on stories of heroism and mission that illustrate the bond between communities abroad and the Israeli reality. Among them were the stories of Captain Daniel Perez z"l, son of the President of World Mizrachi Rabbi Doron Perez; Yaron Eliezer Chitiz z"l, son of an Olim family from South Africa; and Hananel Gez, who lost his wife Tze'ela Gez z"l, who was murdered in a terror attack while in an advanced stage of pregnancy, and his son, Ravid, who was delivered and passed away after 15 days, and was an American citizen.
"I was thrown into a pit of unimaginable pain when one year ago, my beloved wife Tze'ela was taken from me. The light of my home was extinguished. The future we dreamed of vanished in a moment. The grief was crushing. Nights felt endless," Hananel said through tears. "But I refused to let tragedy define me." Gez shared that within that same year, he remarried his wife Ma'ayan. "Together we are building a new chapter - not as a replacement for what was lost, but as proof that Hashem still writes beautiful endings after the hardest chapters."
Gez turned to those present and called on them to make Aliyah quickly: "We live in the very Land that Moshe prayed to see. I myself made Aliyah from New York when I was 25 years old, precisely with this hope - to live the dream of every Jew: to walk on the holy soil of Eretz Yisrael, the only true home our people have ever known. Therefore, I stand here and say with all my heart: If you are still in the Diaspora - make Aliyah. The sooner, the better. Do not wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment is now. Come home," he said with emotion. "Come strengthen our people. Build your home here. Raise your children here. Plant your future in the soil Hashem promised to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov."
During the ceremony, the story of Major Moshe Leiter z"l was also presented. He was a company commander in the Shaldag unit who fell in battle in the northern Gaza Strip at the beginning of the war. Moshe is the son of Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, and his family immigrated to Israel from the United States. Alongside the presentations, musical performances were played by singer Yonatan Razel, a close friend of Moshe z"l, in his memory.
Roi Abecassis, Head of the Department for Zionist Jewish Identity, on holding the ceremony: "Yom HaZikaron takes on a special meaning for these students who are in Israel during a year of war. They are not just studying Torah in the Land; they are living it and feeling like a part of the State of Israel."