Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day is an opportunity to disconnect from the background noise and tune in for the sake of change and hear Israel's true melody.
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The coronavirus pandemic curtailed the Memorial Day ceremonies in 2020, but this year the public can unite and once again visit the graves of their fallen, who gave their lives for the sake of independent Israel. They are the reason the Jewish state exists.
What has not been said of Israelis this year: they are undisciplined; there is no way to impose COVID restrictions on them; that they are divided; that instead of fighting their enemies, the biggest one of which last year was the pandemic, they keep fighting with each other; that trust in leadership and government was no longer.
However, as restrictions eased and we began to return to normal life, it turned out that all that slander was just part of the background noise that is starting to fade. We realized that the exact opposite is true: everything is relative, and if we compare Israel to other nations, we were, in fact, disciplined during the pandemic.
We took care of the weak link in the chain, the same way we have done for the last 150 years. It was not enough, but there was always someone who helped those who struggled to keep up.
In the two great struggles of 2020, one against the pandemic and the other against the Iranian nuclear threat, the two systems to which we do not always give due credit were re-discovered: the healthcare system and the Israeli army.
Israel's borders have been quiet lately, and their existence has almost been forgotten. There is more concern about border crossings than the borders themselves.
The long war of prevention is being waged far away from the border of the country, and it historical peace agreements, like the Abraham Accords, that normalized the relationship between Israel and other Gulf and Maghreb nations.
Independence day is considered a secular holiday, but it is precisely this secular tradition that is charged with Messianism. It is the belief that if Zionism has brought about an independent Jewish state, the ingathering of the exile, and the establishment of an army, then there is more to look forward to. Do not go home during the break.
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