Last year they were unable to go to the graves of their loved ones • This year, the bereaved families share: "We were crushed by the loneliness" • The bereaved parents remember visiting them from all
Bereaved families go to the graves
Photo:
Dudu Greenspan
The bereaved families return to the graves of their loved ones who fell in the Israeli wars, after last year they were unable to do so following the corona crisis that broke out in the world shortly before.
This year, the families went up to the graves to commemorate the memory and pain they shared.
First Sergeant Liel Gideoni - "Liel had a smile for every situation"
"This year we will feel the partnership again. We will feel together. Unlike last year we had to deal with the pain alone and it was devastating. When friends and family hug today it passes more easily" says the mother of the late Sergeant Liel Gideoni. Liel fell in battle in Rafah in Operation Eitan Cliff And he is 21. Liel, the son of Mazal and Eliyahu is the younger brother of Zion, Nir and Or. "We have a tradition: after the ascent to Mount Herzl and the ceremony everyone comes to our home - the commanders and friends of our neighbors' friends and his elementary and high school friends and many more come to our home .
The house is full until ten o'clock at night, when the fireworks of Independence Day are heard from Mount Herzl.
"Last year we were alone and now we'll be back to it again." "Liel had a smile for every situation - an angry smile, a tired smile, even a sad smile, but mostly a smile of joy - that gives him the strength to move on," said one of the friends.
The late Reuven Eretz Kedusha - "Two of Dad's nephews named their children after Reuven"
Edna Hajaj Holy Land The late Reuven's sister was moved by the fact that she could go up to her brother's grave. Reuven fell in the Yom Kippur War during the battles against the Egyptians in Sinai. The jeep he was traveling in was directly hit and he was killed on the spot. Reuven left parents behind. Three sisters and two brothers. "This year we will go to the nuclear family.
We are a very large family and a lot of people come, some of my dad's brothers have passed away, but the younger generation continues the tradition two of dad's nephews named their children after him.
"The situation is easier after the years despite the losses. My brother was killed so my father fell ill after the war. My brother who was born after Reuven died of a heart attack at the age of 46 and now I lost my husband a year ago. But we are not a sinking family. The end of the world came when we did not go to the cemetery, "she said.
The late Shmuel Halfon - "This year the nuclear family will be near Shmulik again"
After last year holding a memorial event through the Zoom this year the family of the late Shmuel Halfon will be able to go up to his grave. “We did not know what the corona was and we did not want to endanger anyone.
In the siren I cried, it was terrible to be far away and not stand next to Shmulik, "says his widow Iris in pain, who this year will only attend ceremonies with the nuclear family.
"Not being at Memorial Day near Shmulik's grave was really strange for me. It will be very difficult this year to be only with the nuclear family and not with all the friends and extended family but that is also something and I will know that I am next to him again."
Iris Halfon is the widow of the late Lieutenant Shmulik Halfon. Lieutenant Shmuel (Shmulik) Halfon fell in battle in the Second Lebanon War from Katyusha. He was 42 years old at the time of his fall. Months.
The late Lieutenant Avshalom Armoni - "I finished an exercise close to where Avshalom fell"
The late Lt. Avshalom Armoni, an officer in the Artillery Corps, the son of Tamar and Nehemiah, residents of Beit Horon, was killed in an operational accident in the Golan Heights in September 2017 when he was 22 years old.
"Last year we had to bury in the evening in a limited way. This year we could go up more. There is no doubt that this week is a different week for all of us. I just finished an exercise in the north three minutes drive from where it fell. Fate sometimes leads us to this place. Memorial Day for me is the same "I do not care about the corona. I have 365 days of remembrance and I am happy for those who remember my brother Avshalom the rest of the year," shared Avshalom's brother, Lieutenant Jonathan Armoni, Sgt., In the Armored Brigade. The third son of the Armoni couple is a brother of the twins Michael Mordechai and Uri Eliyahu and of Jonathan Chaim and Noam Yehezkel.
The late Shimon Rokach - "I learned to know my father from stories of 47 years"
The late Shimon Rokach was drafted into the reserve with the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Shimon was killed in the containment battles against the soldiers of the Second Egyptian Army in Sinai at the age of 24. His daughter Moni (Shimon) named after him Shimon did not get to know. "Dad was a sniper," she said. "He was married for almost a year and was almost a father.
Mom was pregnant with me in the seventh month.
Two months after he fell I was born.
From stories of 47 years I got to know him.
He had big dreams.
He wanted a son to be born to him, but I left at the end. "This year Moni and his family will return to visit her father's grave." I have been visiting his grave on Memorial Day since the age of 12.
It was not easy not to reach the grave last year.
My mother wanted to go but we did not allow her.
To feel the atmosphere I joined a project called ‘Recipe for Memory’.
In this project, they prepare a dish that the fallen person liked to prepare or eat.
My dad used to make spicy shashlik.
I uploaded the recipe in the project and lots of friends and family made his rattle.
This year it will be easier, because we will reach his grave. "