IDF Honors Veterans of Israel’s Independence

Stand for Israel | May 2, 2022

IDF honors veterans of Israel Independence, 2022 — (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

This week, Israel will observe two special holidays – Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day). Ahead of these two times to remember those who served Israel, as well as the freedoms that all Israelis now enjoy, The Jerusalem Post’s Anna Ahronheim reports on the IDF remembering its veterans of the 1948 Israel War of Independence:

Ahead of Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars, the IDF’s Southern Command is embarking on an extensive project honoring the fighters of the War of Independence with a series of heritage ceremonies and marches as part of Operation LaOrem (Following their Path).
Cpt. Adi Perry, education officer in the IDF’s 80th Edom Division in the Southern Command, told The Jerusalem Post that the military has been working on the project for over two months and that more than 1,500 troops are taking part in the three-day-long operation.
“It fills you with pride to hear officers explain why we need to learn and discuss the War of Independence,” she said, explaining that yesterday officers spoke to troops about the generation of fighters who fought in the Independence War and why we continue to fight today…”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he only recently learned that his father had taken part in the Battle of Be’erot Yitzhak that took place on July 15, 1948 against Egyptian forces.
Despite the fighters’ lack of experience, Israeli forces managed to repel the Egyptian attack until reinforcements arrived and drove the Egyptians out.
“The story of the battle of Be’erot Yitzhak is largely the story of the State of Israel and the generation of 1948. They were new immigrants who gathered from all over the world, in order to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel…”