Calls for Unity as Israel Marks Memorial and Independence Days (with VIDEO)
The country’s population currently stands at over 9.5 million, 11.8 times as large as it was in 1948 when it proclaimed its independence.
The siren that sounds throughout Israel on the eve of its Memorial Day to fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism is “a moment of mighty, bitter grief,” Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday evening at the national ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Herzog used his address to call for unity among Israelis. “Our sons and daughters, who fell in defense of our state, fought together and fell together. They did not ask, nor did anyone ask them, who was right-wing and who was left-wing. Who was religious. Who was secular. Who was Jewish and who was not Jewish. Nor did grief pose these questions, to them or to you. They fell as Israelis, defending Israel. In cemeteries, arguments fall silent. Between the headstones, not a sound. A silence that demands that we fulfill, together, their single dying wish: the resurrection of Israel. The building of Israel. United, consolidated, responsible for each other. For we are all sisters and brothers,” he said.
Israel’s prime minister echoed this call on Wednesday morning at the Memorial Day ceremony at the National Memorial Hall for Fallen Soldiers on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Following a second siren that brought the entire country to a standstill – on the sidewalks and highways, in malls and office buildings, Bennett stated, “If we are not together – we will not be at all. We have no existence as conflicting tribes, but only as a diverse and united nation.” He added, “In this Israeli journey – a journey of heroism, a journey of mourning and pain, a journey of devotion and power – we are all partners. We’re all here together. With one fate. With one designation.”
Bennett said that Israel would fight violence and terrorism, which he said “are not natural phenomena or destinies that the State of Israel will come to terms with. We are crippled not only by the one who directly harms us but also by the one who sent it. The era of the immunity of perpetrators of terrorism is over.”
Following Wednesday’s siren, ceremonies also were held at the 52 military cemeteries located throughout the country.
If we are not together – we will not be at all. We have no existence as conflicting tribes, but only as a diverse and united nation.
Also on Mount Herzl, representatives of the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Police, and the Israel Prison Service gathered on Wednesday at the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen to read out the names of the fallen service members. The names are engraved on the bricks used to construct the memorial hall.
Some 56 soldiers were added this year to the list of those killed during their military service. An additional 84 wounded or disabled veterans died in the last year as a result of injuries sustained during military service, bringing the total number of people who have died defending Israel since 1860 to 24,068.
A separate ceremony at Mount Herzl was held later on Wednesday in memory of terror victims.
Thirty-three names were added to the list of terror victims who perished in attacks in the past year. Another four victims with disabilities died due to complications from serious injuries they sustained in attacks, bringing the total to 3,199 since Israel was established in 1948.
The Jewish Agency for Israel held a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers and terror victims at its headquarters in Jerusalem, where it hosted bereaved Ukrainian families who fled to Israel after the Russian invasion of their country, whose family members served as lone soldiers in the IDF and were killed during their service. The families lit a torch honoring their fallen loved ones.
The ceremony also honors Jews who were murdered in antisemitic and terror attacks outside of Israel. The names of 200 of those victims are memorialized on a wall at the Jewish Agency.
As night falls on Wednesday, Israel will transition from the grief and sadness of Memorial Day to the celebration and joy of the country’s Independence Day, or in Hebrew Yom Haatzmaut. During the national ceremony also held at Mount Herzl, 12 torches representing the 12 tribes of Israel will be lit by people who have made an outstanding contribution to society.
Each year on the eve of Independence Day, the Central Bureau of Statistics releases the annual population statistics for the country. The country’s population currently stands at over 9.5 million. This includes 7.02 million Jews, who are 73.9% of the population; 2 million Arabs, who are 21% of the population; and 478,000 members of other groups, making up about 5% of the population. Israel’s population has increased by about 176,000 people since last year at this time – a 1.9% rise over last year’s figure. Last year, the population rose by some 137,000 people or 1.5%. Since last year, some 191,000 babies were born, 55,000 people died, and 38,000 people immigrated to the country, the largest number of immigrants in two decades.
Israel’s population is 11.8 times as large as it was in 1948 when it proclaimed its independence. Since then, 3.3 million people have immigrated to Israel, 44.7% of them since 1990. The population is expected to grow to 13.2 million by 2040, CBS predicted.
