In accordance with Health Ministry regulations designed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Israel, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett issued instructions to hold ceremonies marking Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, which begin nationwide at sundown on Monday, April 27, without audiences.
The Defense Ministry and the IDF Personnel Directorate have been ordered to hold the state ceremonies at the Western Wall and on Mount Herzl – scheduled for April 28 – as planned, but without the public. The ceremonies will be broadcast live.
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Bennett also decided to cancel 52 public ceremonies at military cemeteries nationwide. According to his instructions, the Defense Ministry will place a special honor guard at each cemetery, with soldiers flanking a lighted memorial torch. There will be a military solute, and IDF cantors will recite the Kaddish mourning prayer.
The Defense Ministry said in a statement that Bennett had made the decision in compliance with a recommendation from the ministry director-general and head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, and other ministry officials, who had consulted representatives of the organizations that commemorate Israel's fallen soldiers and support bereaved families.
