Ambassador Ron Dermer's speech for Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day) Ceremony, May 4, 2014.
Bereaved Family Members, Soldiers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I know very well what it is like to lose family and those who are close to you.
I know the pain and agony that comes from mourning that loss.
But as someone who made Aliyah to Israel at the age of 26 and who did not serve in the Israeli army, there are certain things that I do not know.
I do not know the pain of losing a friend on the battlefield.
I do not know the agony of having a loved one killed by an enemy.
I do not know what it’s like being in the car and hearing the news on the radio that a soldier was killed and to fear that it could be your father, your son, your brother or your sister.
I do not know what it’s like to stay up all night worrying, waiting for the phone to ring to hear that they’re alright.
I do not know any of these things. But I do know this:
I know that sacrifice of those we salute today is why there is a State of Israel.
And I know that the courage of those we salute today is why the Jewish people have a future.
It is often said that the United Nations created the State of Israel.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
What created the State of Israel was a bold decision by a leader of Israel and the sacrifices made by the soldiers of Israel.
Had Israel not won the War of Independence and every war that followed, had Israel not withstood the horrific terror attacks against us, no UN decision in the world would have protected Israel.
What protects Israel is the IDF, and its citizens who stand resilient against all our enemies.
Sixty six years after Israel was established, there are few who remember what life was like for the Jewish people before there was an Israel.
But just take a few minutes this Memorial Day to read, learn and remember about that past.
Read about one hundred generations of our people who were subject to every evil under the sun – persecution, pogroms and massacres - culminating in the worst massacre of all, the Holocaust.
Read about a people who were without a state and without the power to defend themselves.
Read about a people, whose heads were bowed, begging others to protect them.
And then think about the story of these past 66 years.
Think about the sovereignty we have restored and the hope we have renewed.
Think about a nation that stands tall again and defends itself, by itself, about an army that has overcome every threat – tanks, terror, rockets and cyber-attacks – and continues to go from strength to strength.
Think about the children who play happily in the streets of Jerusalem, the young couples who dance all night in Tel Aviv, and those Israelis who founded the state, now relaxing on a bench somewhere, looking back with pride at the ingathering of the exiles and all that we have managed to build:
A country which has become a global technological superpower, a wonder in the fields of science, medicine, agriculture, water, cyber, culture, arts, and many other fields.
Bereaved Family Members, Soldiers, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this day when we are learning about all this past, and thinking about the present, we remember those we are saluting.
We remember those that paid the ultimate price.
We remember that their personal sacrifice granted life to an entire nation, and made possible the ultimate blessing.
The blessing of living as a free people in our land.