Israel marks Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism
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Israel marks Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers

  •   Israel marks Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism
  • 4/30/2017
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    Remembrance Day 2017 Remembrance Day 2017 copyright: MFA
     
     
    ​Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening, April 30 2017, is a day of collective and personal anguish mingled with honor for the fallen. The official events begin at 8:00 PM with a moment of national silence heralded by a one-minute siren.

    A total of 23,544 men and women have been killed defending the land of Israel since 1860, the year that the first Jewish settlers left the secure walls of Jerusalem to build new Jewish neighborhoods.

    In the past year, since Remembrance Day 2016, 97 members of the security forces - police, IDF, Border Police, Israel Security Agency and other organizations - were killed during their service.
     
    Remembrance Day ceremonies commence at 11:00 AM at 52 IDF military cemeteries located throughout the country, following a two-minute blast of the siren. There will also be a ceremony for overseas Mahal volunteers who fought and died during the War of Independence, which will take place near the Sha'ar Hagai Junction. Israel's flag, adorned with a black ribbon and memorial flame, is placed on each and every grave of those who fell in Israel's battles and are buried in military cemeteries throughout Israel. It expresses the country's respect for the fallen as well as the entire country's participation in the grief of the families.
     
    An officer places a flag on a fallen soldier's grave. (Archive photo: IDF Spokesperson)
     
    In memory of those who have fallen while on duty in the Israeli Foreign Service