Remembrance

Today is Yom Hazikaron יום הזכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ונפגעי פעולות האיבה, the holiday that commemorates the veterans and fallen military personnel of the Israel Defense Forces and other Israeli security services who died in the Arab Israeli conflict, the fallen members of the Jewish Brigade, and of the various paramilitary organization of the Yishuv, who died before the establishment of Israel and the civilians murdered by acts of terrorism. They number in excess of 22,000 people killed by those who sought to destroy the Jewish State.

In Israel, Yom Hazikaron commences with the sound of sirens proclaiming a two-minute silence during which all activity and traffic cease. Flags are flown at half mast and memorial ceremonies are held all over the country.

Ending at sundown, the sombre, reflective mood of Yom Hazikaron gives way to the celebration of Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day), a transition which emphasizes the lasting tie between the sacrifice of the countrys fallen and the continued existence of a vibrant and dynamic State of Israel.

Honest Reporting's Backspin provides the following data as Israel Remembers the Fallen:

• 69 Percentage of Israelis killed during the second intifada who were civilian.
  
• 1,634 Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks since the founding of the state.
  
• 14,000 Approximate number of Israeli civilians injured in terror attacks since the state's founding.
  
• 22,437 Number of servicemen and soldiers killed in defense of Israel since 1860, when Jews first began settling outside the walls of Jerusalem.

Sources: Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, National Post.

May their memory be blessed.