Israel came to a standstill at 11 am Wednesday when a siren shrieked through the countryside, reminding the nation of the losses it's suffered this year and those past. The evening of Yom Hazikaron, we went to the Kotel, where we had the privilege of seeing president Reuven Rivlin and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot speak. The platform was filled with chairs, in which sat soldiers who had all been affected by a loss. I founded it very touching to watch the father of a fallen soldier say Kaddish.
I've always had great appreciation for Israel's soldiers, and experiencing this day in Israel not only strengthened my appreciation for them, but also my appreciation for the people of Israel as a whole. It was beautiful to see everybody at a two minute standstill no matter where they were, remembering our fallen soldiers.
Independence day marked the transition from remembrance to celebration. That night we went to Ben Yehuda street in Jerusalem where we were met with massive crowds of happy people, fireworks and loud music. It was pretty lit, ngl.
Experiencing both of these holidays in Israel was something I'll never forget. Here's my question for you: What was one thing you liked or stood out to you about each day and why?
I liked that Israel takes their memorial day so seriously, not to say that America doesn't, but they really show so much more respect and they honor the dead in, what I think, is a better way. On the 2nd day I like how everyone is so happy and they celebrate with so much enthusiasm. Everyone is super happy and they all have such a great time.
ReplyDeleteI think what just blew me away for the two days was the overall atmosphere in Israel. Yom Hazikaron just does not compare to the US's Memorial Day and I was somehow able to connect to it more. Then the transition from such a somber day to Yom Ha'atzmaut was honestly incredible to witness. All of Israel was so high energy an I've never experienced anything more fun. That's what I loved so much about the 2 holidays.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was really touching that the entire country came together for yom hazikaron. Everyone is touched by the purpose of the day and the togetherness was very different and nice to see.
ReplyDeleteI think that having yom haatzmaut directly after that made it much more exciting because you feel the effect of what people have sacrificed for Israel, and rather than just mourn, celebrate. It was an exciting day, and again, great pride and togetherness was prevalent.
I thought it was really touching that the entire country came together for yom hazikaron. Everyone is touched by the purpose of the day and the togetherness was very different and nice to see.
ReplyDeleteI think that having yom haatzmaut directly after that made it much more exciting because you feel the effect of what people have sacrificed for Israel, and rather than just mourn, celebrate. It was an exciting day, and again, great pride and togetherness was prevalent.
I liked having it at the Kotel, it seemed very meaningful. As for the day after, seeing all of the people at Ben Yehuda street celebrating was an amazing experience.
ReplyDeleteI think I was very shocked to hear and see everyone stop and start when the siren came on. The whole day had a very solemn atmosphere, but then that night everything changed so drastically. I loved finally experiencing the Israeli culture and being on Ben Yehuda St for Independence Day. It was such a clear change and it was great to see how Israeli's do it. We were able to see how things are done here.
ReplyDeleteI have never experienced such a meaningful day to honor the lives of the soldiers. It was a very sad day however I could not really connects. The change from day to night was so interesting, everything went to being so sad to so lively. Ben Yehuda street was amazing and I had the best night.
ReplyDeletememorial day: everyone was very respectful of those who had lost loved ones, and no one really let anyone mourn alone
ReplyDeleteindependence day: how quickly everyone changed emotion from sad and mournful to happy and drunk
The siren was the most meaningful. It was short, but in those two minutes, the whole entire country stood silently and remembered. It's so small, but it's so huge at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe siren was really meaningful because we were all together in silence, and I thought that was a really important experience. On independence day, we had a lot of fun at the beach, and it was cool to see all the celebrations.
ReplyDeleteI really like the transition from the sadness and sirens from Yom Hazikaron to the absolute celebration and euphoria of Yom HaAtzmaut in such a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteGoing to the tekes on yom hazikaron was very powerful, so see how each community comes together as one. Then the transition to yom haatzmaut was very fun to see. Ben Yehudah street was really fun to go to as well, loved all the raving and the fun spirit that people have.
ReplyDeleteThe extremeness of each holiday was very interesting. Putting them back to back was weird from going from a low to a high so quickly.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me while we were at the Western Wall was the conversation I heard between a mother and her five-year old son. They were talking about the soldiers and she said that one day, that would be him and he seemed so excited to join the army.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me was how the people reacted to each holiday. For Yom Hazikaron, it was a very serious and sad holiday because everyone here goes into the army and is directly connected to someone who died. And Yom Haatzmaut was really amazing and so much fun, because people everyday fight for the freedom of this country and people who are alive and well fought in the wars that gained us independence.
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