Yom Hazikaron AND YomHaatzmaut!!!

April was a month of many important days. First was Holocaust Remembrance Day and then a week later, was Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day). In Israel, Yom Hazikaron is a day for the fallen soldiers AND victims of terror in Israel. This is something that is unique to Israel and I think that it is very important to remember the lives of both groups. It started on the 14th of April and the next evening was the start of Yom Haatzmaut which is when Israelis celebrate 65 beautiful years across the country. This is very weird because that means that bereaved families who were remembering their fallen loved ones in the morning were expected to celebrate that evening. The topic of these days being back to back is very controversial and many people think that there should at least be a whole day in between.
To bring in Yom Hazikaron, all of Yearcourse attended a ceremony put on by Masa at Latrun. Latrun is right next to Jerusalem and is land that was annexed by Israel in the Six Day War. Every single Masa program was there (that means any Israel program basically) including March of The Living! The ceremony was very well done. There were performances, speeches by very famous people such as Naftali Bennet and Natan Sharansky and there were five stories told. Four of the people spoken about were not "Tzabarim" (meaning native born Israelis). These were four people who either made Aliyah early on with their families or did it on their own through lone soldier programs like Garin Tzabar. I was crying for the first story until I got to the bus. Each story was so inspirational and heart breaking. We listened to their families talk about their loved ones and you just can't help but feel such pain for these five people. They will forever be in my heart.

The next morning, my section and I went to the military cemetary in Tel Aviv known as Kiryat Shaul. Every year on Yom Hazikaron, bereaved families go to the cemetaries where their loved ones are buried and commemorate their lives. We were lucky enough to speak to a man named Haim Abraham who lost both his son and his brother from war. He told us their stories and I couldn't believe how strong he was. He lost so much and is still able to come to talk to us about it. His son was captured during an operation near Lebanon. No one knew whether he was dead or alive and the government wouldn't disclose any information.  In the end, they swapped many dangerous terrorists only to receive the bodies of his son and his two soldiers. We went to his grave and remembered him and put flowers. 

After listening to Haim's story, we walked around the cemetary handing out water and picking up trash. I noticed that there were soldiers everywhere and was then informed that every soldier was assigned to a grave. This way, everyone resting there has someone watching over them and remembering them. So I walked over to a grave that had only one soldier there and I read the tombstone and took a moment of silence for them. Everyone deserves to be remembered and I think that the IDF is doing a great job of making sure that this happens.

At 11:00, the nationwide siren went off and the whole country shut down. Immediately afterwards, the ceremony began and the Minister of Defense read the "Yizkor" prayer and we sang the national anthem "Hatikvah" as a nation. Being able to witness this with my own eyes was absolutely incredible. The whole nation bands together on this day to remember the victims and it is so special.

Later that night, Yom Haatzmaut began!!!! Our section went out with almost everyone dressed in blue and white. We got to Rabin Square and watched the fireworks while listening to some good ol' Israeli music. After that, 60 of us roamed the streets of Tel Aviv going to all the street celebration that we could find. Such a fun and cool experience that you can only find here in Israel :) Happy Birthday to the best country on Earth! 65 years old and looking better than ever!

After a fun night of partying it up in the streets of Tel Aviv, Sarah and I were on our way to Jerusalem at 8:00 AM the next morning. We have a bunch of friends from BBYO that are on a program called March of the Living. This program spends one week in Poland and one week in Israel. On Yom Haatzmaut, the program was planned to march from the city hall to the Western Wall. One of my best friends got us wristbands and just like that we were in!!! The day started off with a super fun ceremony in Safra Square. Thousands of MOTL participants from Canada, USA, Panama, Mexico, Brazil etc were going crazy celebrating Israel's Independence. Then, the LA delegation was first in the march so we started walking. The whole time, people were chanting Am Israel Chai and singing songs. Everyone had Israelis flags and it was sooo much fun! When we arrived to the Wall, we completely took over the area and all you could see from a bird's eye view was a sea of blue and white. I was so happy to be able to take part in this!!!!

עם ישראל חי