Dov (Dubi) Wilensky was born in the 1948 war and died in the 1967 war. 75 years after the birth of her State and brother, Sara mourns his death and celebrates the anniversary of a country that has multiplied its population by twelve (today almost ten million inhabitants) and by a thousand its polarization. The deep division, aggravated by the judicial reform proposal that the new government announced in January and suspended in March, marks two sacred dates in the Israeli national calendar: this Tuesday that remembered the 28,468 soldiers and civilians killed in wars and attacks (Yom HaZikaron) and the one that, starting tonight, celebrates Independence (Yom HaAtzmaut).
“This is not about the political discussion between left and right, but about our lives and preserving democracy. Dubi fought in defense of a democratic country,” Wilensky told EL MUNDO before a day that this year was especially tense. So much so that several ministers listened to the requests of the families of the victims and did not go to the cemeteries to avoid tensions and shouts of anger that alter the memory of their loved ones. According to these families, they were not worthy of being or, above all, making a speech at the grave of their relatives. Some for their rhetoric against protesters and reservists who oppose the judicial project (“anarchists”, “go to hell”, etc) and others, ultra-orthodox, for supporting the military exemption of young people from their sector so that they dedicate themselves only to studying of the Torah.
During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the ceremony commemorating civilians killed in attacks, the brother of a young victim quietly displayed the Israeli flag with the text of the Declaration of Independence (symbol of the protest). Last year in that same place, the then Conservative Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was rebuked by some angry for having agreed a government with the left and an Arab party.
The enormous internal fracture was reflected in protests by families of victims against some ministers in several of the 54 military cemeteries. As expected due to the visit of the Minister of National Security, the ultra-nationalist Itamar Ben Gvir, the Beer Sheva cemetery was the focus of greatest tension that led to some struggles and screams between families usually united by pain. The most controversial politician in Israel ignored the plea of ??some families and appeared at the cemetery. Several participants interrupted his speech with shouts of “get out of here! Shame on you!” while others applauded.
“Families of soldiers who fell in the same battle do not speak to each other,” admits with regret the president of the Yad LeBanim organization, Eli Ben Shem, who is a strong critic of Ben Gvir. Ben Shem, whose son was killed along with 72 other soldiers in a 1997 helicopter crash, got Netanyahu and opposition leaders former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz to sign a joint statement calling for “dissent out of cemeteries.” military”. “During the 75 years of existence of the State of Israel, the days of Remembrance of the Fallen were a symbol of unity and love for the people and the country. It is the day in which we unite with the fallen and embrace their families”, the text reads.
“Israel is the most important thing no matter who rules. The leaders must come to the cemeteries regardless of their ideology because they come as representatives of the state. With their presence, I feel that the state is with us,” says Shai Atia, remembering her father, killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing in the northern city of Afula in 1994. “It is very sad that we are so divided,” he concludes.
“I demonstrate every week to defend the State that our fathers created as a refuge for the Jews and a moral example and to safeguard the memory of those who fell for defending it like my brother,” says Wilensky, revealing that numerous relatives of his were killed in the Holocaust. And he warns that if all the laws are approved as announced in January, he will not allow his children to serve in the Army anymore: “There is a contract between the citizens and the State. The moment the State breaks it, I don’t think they should serve in the army.”
The suspension of the government project opened a period of dialogue with the opposition but did not stop the massive demonstrations that have been taking place for 16 weeks. While the right also began to mobilize in the streets in favor of reform, recalling their victory in the November elections, more than 300,000 Israelis demonstrated last Saturday due to fear that Netanyahu’s brake is just “a maneuver” to dismantle the protest. Half of them congregated in Tel Aviv, which this Tuesday night once again hosts protesters against the ultra-conservative coalition to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Israel in an alternative event to the traditional ceremony in Jerusalem in which 12 prominent citizens light 12 torches. Lapid decided not to attend the event in protest at what he considers “political use made by the Government” which he accuses of acting against democracy. “I love the country with all my heart, but in just three months you have destroyed society and no fake fireworks show will cover it,” he tweeted while the coalition accused him of “irresponsibly promoting division.”
The two emblematic days in Israel are also marked by fear of new Palestinian attacks. Less than 24 hours after the intentional hit-and-run that caused six injuries in Jerusalem, another Israeli was injured on Tuesday when he was shot from a Palestinian car while participating in a race in the West Bank organized precisely for Yom HaZikaron.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
