Even half a century after the fall of my beloved Kobi Benny in the helicopter disaster, the days of remembrance land on me in full force and weight.
After all, for us, the bereaved families, every day is a day of remembrance.
Endless dealing with longings and thoughts.
I have often wondered to myself: What is the place of State Remembrance Day?
And I answer: on this day we are also remembered.
Us - parents, siblings, widows, orphans - who paid an inconceivable blood price.
Us - who fall asleep at night and dream of the young face that will never return.
Us - that our every smile is mixed with deep sadness, which will never freeze.
Because we do not really need Remembrance Day, but the State of Israel, in all its sectors, testimonies and parts, needs Remembrance Day like breathing air.
Needs a moral, value compass that will shoot the way again, that will sharpen its righteousness, that will calm the pain for one day in which it can be shared with the whole nation.
The understanding that tens of thousands of bereaved families walk among us day in and day out, hour in and hour out, is enough to show more compassion and listening.
The disagreements between us intensify
But this year, unfortunately, in a direct continuation of the same slippery slope where we have all been rolling down in recent years, I feel a different kind of pain and it scares me very much.
The free hatred, the rifts, the disputes between us, are intensifying and occupying too much volume in public discourse, in style, in language.
Forgive me for the harsh words, but I look with blind eyes at how Remembrance Day is also slowly losing its sanctity and status, and I feel compelled to protest.
And if I have the power to shout, precisely today, in the name of the fallen, then I will ask: Let us honor their memory throughout the year.
Standing at the siren and singing in the square is important and exciting, but our true will must be fulfilled every day, routinely, in line at the supermarket, in a traffic jam on the way to work, in a post we write on Facebook and in the way we raise our children.
Public leaders, take responsibility
To you, the leaders of the public, I call: Take responsibility.
Understand the magnitude of your mission in lowering the flames and connecting the various parts of Israeli society.
Disagreements have been and will be, but in order for us to continue to exist here together, side by side, we must leave bereavement out of the game.
Honor the memory of the fallen with free love.
This is their legacy - and this is our duty.
Were we wrong?
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