Living the Memory

“I will be waiting by the big stone” that’s the only meeting point that I found last month to meet my Aunt at the Ashkelon intersection. In Israel you live and understand the suffering of contemporary history. No matter if you try to avoid it, you see it.

As I am writing we are getting ready to celebrate Yom Hazikaron we remember the victims of terrorism and those killed during wars. Less than 24 hours later we will pass from sadness to happiness by celebrating Israel 60.

The stone I am speaking about is there to remember one soldier Hofit Aysh who on February 1996 was waiting for the bus and got killed by a suicide bomber. It was a very sad day and I can still remember it, the same day two deadly terrorist attacks occurred and many innocent victims died. I was 11 and I remember listening to the French Jewish radio and later watching TV. During that period of time I remember that my entire family would come together nervous to see what happened in Israel

In Israel in your daily life you remember, you live the memory and you can also live terrorism, so I wondered why Memorial Day is tomorrow night and why it exists. As one walks in a city like Jerusalem one could visualize and remember the sites of attacks. As I go to work for instance I pass by the Yeshiva Merkaz A Rav where a terrorist attack occurred 2 months ago. Sometimes you also share the tragedy of terrorism. A few hours after meeting my Aunt last month I had to go under cover because a “red siren” went on(meaning a Kassam was in the range of the moshav I was staying at).

The question is do we care or do we get suck into it and we forget rapidly? Certainly today the trendy question is do we care about Sderot and Ashkelon?

David Witsun a famous and very bright journalist who came to speak to us at the Begin Center explained to us that as a terrorist attack occurs in Israel the media leads us into a religious ritual. He explained to the government fellows that sometimes he happened to be the one leading the ritual: the media with the public together unfold the tragedy.

As I was waiting near the stone to remember Hofit Aysh I was pretty disappointed to see a can next to the memorial and some papers here and there. What does it mean if it means anything…Do Israelis pay attention to the too many commemorative plaques in this country that exist to remember?

And maybe the answer is simply religious not because we are in a Jewish state but because Israelis go through a religious ritual to sustain living in a country that is not so welcomed in that region.

Certainly the observation is that Israelis have decided to enjoy life over death and this is also the core of the Jewish religion after all. When we mourn our close ones, we remember we gather and likewise we observe that in Israel during tough episodes people of all kind come together like we would do with my family (some call it the rally under the flag effect). But later we move on, however sometimes it is important to all gather together and to remember those lost. And after a day of remembrance as the sun will sink into the Mediterranean Sea like the ritual dictates we will move from mourning to rejoicing.