The government decided not to specify details of fallen soldiers in order not to fuel public discussion on wars Israel was or is involved in.
Source: Loulou d'Aki/"The New York Times"
The memorial located on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem is called the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen. It was opened without fanfare a few months ago, but it is on the 70th anniversary of Israel’s foundation that it has drawn public attention, the New York Times reports.
After a long political debate on possible concepts of the war memorial, it was decided to focus on the commemoration of each fallen individual, omitting circumstances of their deaths that could provoke public controversy. The memorial consists of bricks engraved with names and death dates arranged in chronological order, starting from our days and going back to the 1870s. A total of 23,600 white inscribed bricks were used.
“Once we introduced the concept of unity and equality, it solved all the problems and prevented the arguments,” says Aryeh Muallem, deputy director general of the Israeli Ministry of Defence and head of the Bereaved Families, Commemoration and Heritage department.
The negative consequences that the Israeli authorities tried to prevent include the absence of consensus on the country’s contemporary history and military operations Israel actively conducts. The mother of a killed soldier wrote a post on Facebook, criticising the state’s militaristic policy:
“We, the mothers, are not worthy of any prize. Our sons’ lives ended forever because our country continues to choose to live by the sword. Fight for peace.”
Subscribe to our mailing list: