the yom hazikaron/yom ha’atzma’ut continuum

I just came back from the most moving Yom Hazikaron ceremony I’ve ever attended. Here on Kibbutz Ein Harod, in a beautiful open area next to the kibbutz cemetery – overlooking the gorgeous Gilboa mountains in the south, and the kibbutz fields in the Jezreel valley. Beautifully designed and contructed monuments adorn this area, marking the soldiers who gave their lives, and there is also a memorial wall with names of holocaust victims who were relatives of members here. This kibbutz has lost its fair share (whatever that is) of soldiers to the various assorted wars. It’s incredibly sad. 

There are various Arab villages around here, and I understand that relations have been very good since 1948. I went for a walk this morning, up the hill behind the kibbutz. great views of the valley, the mountains, and the mountains to the north…. and all the surrounding villages. I may have been looking as far easy as Jordan – not sure.

I’m reminded how my friends here on kibbutz and in Israel are so willing to put themselves directly on the line for the country. It’s very different to sit across the ocean, obviously… in all my many years of living in Israel, I’d never attended the yom hazikaron/yom ha’atzma’ut somber to festive two-day ritual here on this kibbutz. It’s quite different than being in the city. Everyone participates, the setting is gorgeous, so many people here have a direct connection to the foundation of the state.

I haven’t yet moved from the somber to the festive – it’s great to be back after so many years, and experiencing new things here in Israel. And then of course there are the changes to kibbutz, which I’ve been hearing about here, and in Kibbutz Shamir in the north. Kibbutzim on the move…. that will await another blog entry.

some thoughts from Israel
chag sameach,
Ellen