The opening ceremony for Israel's day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and terrorism victims takes place at Yad Labanim in Jerusalem, attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.
"As in every generation, they rise up to destroy us"
In his speech, Netanyahu addressed the Iranian threat and said: "Iran, as in every generation, has risen up to destroy us. It planned to destroy us with nuclear bombs. Had we not acted, the names Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan, those sites of death, would have joined Auschwitz, Birkenau and Treblinka. We acted and crushed the murder plot."
He added: "That is precisely the difference between the reality of our lives in the terrible exile and a life of national rebirth in the Land of Israel. Unlike in the not-so-distant past, today we have a home, and we must protect it at all costs."
Netanyahu said that alongside Israel's fallen soldiers, "we remember the fallen of the Israeli home front," noting that over the past two and a half years Israel has been fighting a multi-front war "unlike anything since the War of Independence."
He said that "the current generation of victory inspires immense awe in its commitment, its devotion and its tremendous achievements," and stressed that since the Oct. 7 attack, "the Israel Defense Forces and the security forces have been delivering blow after blow to those who seek our destruction."
He also said that "our flag is planted deep inside the Gaza Strip and up to the crown of Mount Hermon," and that "our pilots control the skies of the region."
"We have not yet finished the task, but the world already recognizes our determination to defend ourselves and humanity against barbaric fanaticism," he said, adding that "little Israel and the United States carry the whole of Western civilization on their shoulders."
"We are one big family. Our shared fate crosses camps and sectors. We have been privileged to bring home all our living and fallen hostages from the Gaza Strip. There is no greater mutual responsibility than that."
The person behind the name
At the heart of the ceremony are the stories of Israel's fallen from all its wars, told not through the moment of their deaths but through their lives, their character and the light they left behind.
Alongside video segments and live music, the ceremony presents a sequence that sheds light on the person behind the name, on the values and legacy that continue to endure, in a way that connects personal remembrance with landscape, community and collective memory.
Also attending the ceremony are bereaved families, the president of the Supreme Court, the chief rabbis, senior Israel Police officials, the Defense Ministry director general and representatives of the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Department.
