Israel Unveils Remembrance Hall for Fallen Soldiers

The Fellowship  |  April 27, 2017

This coming Monday, May 1, Israel will observe Yom HaZikaron, its Memorial Day. And ahead of this solemn holiday for those who paid the greatest price while defending the Jewish state, The Times of Israel’s Luke Tress reports that a new Remembrance Hall has been unveiled commemorating each of the 23,000 fallen:

The site, located at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery and next to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, is currently in the final stage of construction and is meant to commemorate every one of the more than 23,000 soldiers killed since before the establishment of the state.

“To remember each one is not a simple thing,” said Aryeh Mualem, head of the Defense Ministry’s Families and Commemoration Department. “This is exactly the place to remember each one of them…”

Many visitors will have a personal connection with soldiers who were killed, Mualem said, and will be able to locate their specific stone in the wall on a series of computers spaced throughout the path. Visitors will also be able to take a photo of a name and get information on the soldier and their story through an app.

The memorial will allow the country to remember the soldiers as individuals, Mualem said, which is especially important today because many of their parents and relatives are getting old.

“Who will remember their son when they pass on?” Mualem said. “We need to remember every one of them…”