Last Sunday I attended a Yom HaZikaron ceremony at a local Jewish Community Center. Yom HaZikaron is the day Israeli's pay honor, tribute and remembesr those that have fallen in establishing and defending the State of Israel. It is always a solemn and heart felt ceremony. This year's event was juxtaposed with a tragic event at that same Jewish Community Center a month before when an evil man shot and killed three individuals. He had targeted them solely because he thought they were Jewish. He was mistaken. All three were Christians who just happened to be attending an audition at the center. It was a sad reminder that anti-Semitism and evil are still too common place in 2014.
Yom HaZikaron is followed the next day by Yom Ha'atzmaut or Independence Day in Israel. From deep sorrow and soberness to celebration and pride. It is an interesting contrast that says tribute must be paid to those brave men and women who died defending and establishing Israel in order to truly celebrate the freedoms and protections for Jews enjoyed today.
The following video celebrates that Am Yisrael Chai or the nation of Israel (still) Lives!
Cameron