Israel remembers its 22,437 fallen

From JPost, May 6, 2008 by ETGAR LEFKOVITS:

Israel pauses Tuesday night to mourn its fallen soldiers, as the nation marked Remembrance Day and honored the memory of those who have lost their lives in defense of the state.

A one-minute air-raid siren wailed across the country at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, followed by the start of ceremonies in memory of fallen soldiers and the victims of terror attacks across the country.

The official state ceremony marking the start of Israel's Memorial Day began immediately after the siren at Jerusalem's Western Wall Plaza, in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, and bereaved families.

"For sixty years we have been having what previous generations of Jews never had - a national home. These soldiers have a wrought a miracle in human history. During six wars they fought, and Israel won. They helped make this country a peace-seeking, just state," Peres said at the start of the ceremony.

"We want to end wars and continue the Zionist movement's vision. We want to shake our neighbors' hands, but we know, when necessary, to pull the trigger," Peres said.
Peres went on to mention the various forces whose fallen are being commemorated: The IDF, the police, the border police, the Shin Bet security agency, the Mossad and other security agencies....

...The Defense Ministry said that since 1860, when the first Jewish settlers began establishing Jewish neighborhoods outside the Jerusalem city walls, 22,437 men and women have been killed in defense of the Land of Israel.

Sixteen Israeli civilians were killed in terrorist attacks in the first four months of the year, bringing the total of civilian terror-related deaths to 1,634 since the creation of the state 60 years ago, National Insurance Institute Director-General Esther Dominissini said Monday.

Remembrance Day will draw to a close Wednesday night at 8 p.m. with the traditional torch-lighting ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl marking the sudden transition from sadness to joy with the start of Israel's 60th Independence Day.