Yom Ha'Zikaron & Yom Ha'Atzmaut

Last week was an interesting week to be in Israel - with both the Remembrance Day for Israeli soldiers that died fighting for Israel, and Israeli independence Day. They take place one day after the other, which is controversial in itself. For some, it is the perfect way to remember that these people died fighting for the Jewish State, which should in turn be celebrated. For others, especially those who have lost loved ones, having the day of celebration so close to the day of remembrance means that they can't enjoy the happy day because they are still down from the sad day. Anyway that's the way it is for now...

So on Yom Ha'Zikaron (Remembrance Day) an air-raid siren sounds for 2 minutes at 11am, and people stop their cars and stand next to them in the middle of the road, come outside shops and schools to stand in remembrance, etc etc.

I was standing in West Jerusalem (the Jewish side) when the siren sounded, right next to the Old City walls, quite close to where the Arab side of Jerusalem - East Jerusalem begins. I've never been here in Israel for these days before, so it was quite an experience for me. At first everything stopped, but then I realised that some people kept walking. It was like a scene from a movie - you know where some people are frozen and some keep moving...

Some of the people walking were obviously Muslim, some could have been any type of Israeli, some cabs and other cars kept driving. Obviously I was emotional already, but seeing this really affected me. I kept thinking about 2 things - First, would Israelis stand silent to remember Arabs that had died throughout the history of this conflict? Probably not. Second, will there ever be a day when the two peoples can mourn their dead together? I hope so.

I couldn't stop thinking about it all day, and when it was time to go out and party that night for Yom Ha'Atzmaut, I just didn't really have it in me. I couldn't quite work out what I was meant to be celebrating... Like the memories of the past and the knowledge that the future of this country's not going to be easy either didn't really feel like something to be celebrating. So maybe I agree with the second camp I guess - maybe having the two days right next to eachother doesn't work for people who are actually giving serious thought to remembering the dead. Maybe it only works for the swarms of 16 year-olds who fill the streets come nightfall on Yom Ha'Zikaron, when Yom Ha'Atzmaut begins. ..