Yom hazikaron vs. US memorial day

amother

Mon, May 09 2011, 4:05 am

Coming from a very American background I never really understood why non charedi Israelis are so passionate about yom ha zikaron. In America, even coming from a very military family memorial day was never so somber and serious. People are not expected to respect the day and refrain from certain activities. No one is given nasty looks or worse for not participating in the moment of remembrance. I was thinking about the difference this morning when one of my neighbors was ranting about respect for yom hazikaron and I was kind of rolling my eyes internally. I realized I was treating yom hazikaron like memorial day in the states. American battles are about ideals. Usually of "freedom" but other ideals also. The remembrance is of the heroism of the soldiers, of their dedication to their country. Here it is about defending the Jewish people, about or survival not only as a country but as a people. All of the battles in which the soldiers fell were on this land. I can walk around my city and see wreaths hanging where actual young men died.
While I was writing this the siren went off.

I intentionally did not make this post about charedim vs. everyone else or zionists vs. non or anti. Lets keep it that way, please.

bluebird

Mon, May 09 2011, 4:15 am

amother wrote:

As a US citizen, I think that's actually a deplorable state. We shouldn't be celebrating on Memorial Day and then posting "THANK YOU TO ALL THE SOLDIERS!" on Facebook. It should be a somber and serious day. Without having mandatory service, most (not all, but most) people are so far from actually being close to someone who puts their life on the line that we don't really think about it anymore.

In EY, the majority of people are close to someone who is a soldier and there is a real feel for there being real neshamas that are dedicating—and in some cases giving—their lives to defend our home. Plus, the fight for survival is current and palpable. I think that's the difference.

shabbatiscoming

Mon, May 09 2011, 5:11 am

shalhevet wrote:

It is also about all the Jewish soldiers, the Jewish lives lost. And the country is small - everyone knows someone who was killed (if you are Israeli).

And it's about Jews killed al kiddush Hashem.

The way of marking it may be secular. But everyone should take time, whenever it might be, to think about all those Jewish boys who died defending Am Yisrael from our enemies. Hashem yikom damam.

Shalhevet, you said that so eloquently. Thank you. It is exactly this OP. Here Eretz Yisrael is a very small little state, we are all brothers. How can we not take a minute to reflect on the people that have defended the Jewish people here in the Jewish land (not political)

RachelEve14

Mon, May 09 2011, 5:51 am

Memorial Day was instituted in the US after the Civil War, also at a time when "everyone" knew someone individually affected.

When I first came to EY I thought it was so smart how the government fixed Yom HaZicharon. In the US, Memorial Day has become a day to start summer and go to the beach. Most people don't know anyone killed in a war. Here it was fixed the day before Independence DAy. There is no temptation to turn Yom Hazicharon into a party / beach / BBQ day. You (general) have a day tomorrow to celebrate. I think if Memorial day in the US had been orginally fixed as July 3, it might be a different holiday today than what it has become.

ChossidMom

Mon, May 09 2011, 6:18 am

shalhevet wrote:

What she said.

People are most certainly entitled to their opinions but Yom Hazikaron is a somber day because so many of us have friends and relatives who were killed defending us.

Would you prefer that it be just a day for "Memorial Day" Sales in the stores?

amother

Mon, May 09 2011, 6:30 am

ChossidMom wrote:

shalhevet wrote:

Excuse me.
I didn't say I had a preference. I was noting the difference. What does opinion have to do with it?
I don't see another way to see it other than what everyone on this thread said.

moonstone

Mon, May 09 2011, 2:11 pm

amother wrote:

Did you stand up?

freidasima

Mon, May 09 2011, 3:23 pm

This is a post which shows me at least how american some posters living in EY still are.
I've been here for ages and for me it's a day when I think of the boys I went to college with who died in the army. When I think of my neighbors sons who were killed. When I think of my own sons friends who were killed in the army. When I think of my former college classmates sons who were killed. When I think of my friends who lost brothers, fathers, sons, husbands. When I think of young colleagues of mine at work who lost their husbands. Whose weddings I had gone to.

It's a half day at work and for many a full day off and I come home and put on channel 33 all day long which has the names of all the fallen soldiers - each one gets four seconds - chronologically. And in the background old fashioned israeli music. And I look at the names as I walk past the tv going here and there in the house and see it. Friends. Friends of friends. Days I remember. Wars I remember. Fathers of friends. Husbands of friends. People from the news. This year they added all the names from the terrible fire in Haifa, all those poor people who died on the way to battle the fire. The firemen and women. Members of our secret services who died on duty. Policemen and women.

I sit or I stand and I watch and I cry. Because someone should remember them. Even for just four seconds.

Israelis take yom hazikaron very seriously because it is for us. All of us. Today. Soldiers are not something abstract. They are our brothers. Our sons. Our neighbors. We all know what it is like to have a chayal come home right before shabbos and to run and get a wash done of their uniforms and set them to dry so that they will be ready motzei shabbos when they have to go back to the base. We all know what it is for our chayal to come into the house and put his gun away up high so that the little kids can't get to it accidentally. We all know what it is like to hear that something is going on and quickly figure where our husband on miluim, our son in the army, our son in law on miliuim, is at that moment and if they are ok.

Yom hazikaron is us. All of us.

amother

Mon, May 09 2011, 3:43 pm

moonstone wrote:

amother wrote:

Did you stand up?

No. I had a nursing baby on my lap.

amother

Mon, May 09 2011, 3:53 pm

freidasima wrote:

I appreciate your very heartfelt post. Yes, I am very American. I was not raised here. I didn't have the privilege of coming here with my family. I don't have Israeli childhood friends.
Almost every male on the maternal side of the family was in the US military- marines, air force and army. My Aunt is named for my grandfather's two best buddies who died in Korea (Charles and Lane- her name in Charlane). Those who served in the US miltary did not come home for shabbos. They were overseas for months straight. When they are on the front there is no way to figure out where they are. US soldiers are not something that are or were abstract for me.
My point was Yom hazikaron and US memorial day are very different to the Israeli and American people. I just figured out how different, and I was sharing that. As someone for whom soldiers, fallen and fighting is not something abstract.
I am not embarrassed to "still" be very American. Its in my blood, its my reality. I am adjusting to being Israeli and am happily raising Israeli children. I will always be American.