Commander of the Southern Command in a column for Memorial Day: "The victory of the State of Israel is the mission of our lives" - Voila! news

The siren on Memorial Day on Ayalon Road (Maariv)

The commander of the Southern Command, Major General Eliezer Toledano, published this morning (Tuesday) a personal column he wrote in honor of the Day of Remembrance for the fallen of Israel's systems and the victims of hostilities, in which he addressed, among other things, the security tasks assigned to the IDF and the role of the army in Israeli society, against the background of the severe disputes in the country

. Most of all, I miss you.

On this day, on other days, in moments when life slows down for a moment - I miss you.

And out of longing, I ask for their faces.

I remember his face, during night conversations, before we fell asleep for two or three hours, in the room of the MP and SMP," Toledano wrote at the beginning of his words.

"These were profound faces, learning faces, faces that ask for wisdom. Faces that opened a window to his infinite soul, faces that expressed understanding, even before they expressed joy or sadness. Sometimes they expressed restraint or disappointment - but it was always his face in front of my face. We were young officers - The late Major Nadav Milo and myself. He is MP and I am SMP, and in the heat of the events of the mid-1990s, we had no doubt that we held in our hands, in our very hands - the fate of the Zionist enterprise in the Land of Israel," he added.

"Almost thirty years since then, and I long for new photos in my memory gallery - and they are not. The same photos return, one after the other, and with them come the stories of the "choices on the day of battle".

Major General Toledano (right) next to Major Nadav Milo (photo: IDF spokesperson)

"How beautiful the word 'face' in Hebrew - it has many faces. It reflects the face, it allows a person to face the other, his friend to kiss. In the soundtrack of my youth Danny Robbs sings: 'And then you go through me step by step, who I was, who I am now - all the faces And the names are all the songs they took with them."

"Even today, all the faces and all the names, stand in front of me, in front of our eyes, commanders and soldiers of the IDF, and direct our path.

We undertake to abide by the order of the legacy of the fallen, to walk in the footsteps of the unknown, following the greed of heroism and devotion of the soul, following the heroism of the will.

King Solomon said in the book of Proverbs: 'As waters face to face, so is the heart of man to man.'

My commanders, subordinates, my fallen comrades - their faces are the map and the compass, their faces are the lighthouse in the storm of the sea.

And most of all - I miss their faces," Major Toledano emphasized.

The commander of the Southern Command also added: "At the end of 1996, the MP who was always with me, after he had just finished his position in the 101st paratrooper battalion, wrote a letter to his soldiers.

This is how he writes: 'About five months have passed since we dispersed, fighters and commanders.

I am currently in the last days of my vacation, which I 'spent' dividing between the yeshiva walls and the kibbutz fields.

Right now, I'm facing a new role.''

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Commander of the Southern Command, Major General Eliezer Toledano, next to former Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Aviv Kochavi (Photo: Reuven Castro)

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"In the letter, the MP is interested in the peace of his soldiers, and in his parting words to his soldiers he writes to them: 'The IDF should be used as a lever and an expression of unity, tolerance, understanding and cooperation, and we must do everything (so he says) to realize this idea and fulfill it. Everyone I am personally committed and responsible for this 'in his part' - to promote and realize unity, and to prevent polarization.' my words".

"I ask them, I ask us, that we direct our gaze into the face, that we look into the depth of the eyes staring back at us from the citizens of the State of Israel who are looking at us. Into the faces of our soldiers, who look at us as they depart for another defense mission, who find in us a path and meaning, who see in our eyes the righteousness of the path, the importance of the mission, the knowledge that today, just like then, only we will protect ourselves from all those who seek our harm."

"On my behalf and on their behalf, I pledge: the IDF, including the Southern Command, will do everything necessary to fortify the security of the State of Israel.

In the spirit of the legacy of those who fall on this land, we swear that the victory of the State of Israel is our life's mission.

We will continue to be, at any cost, the meeting place for all sections of the people, in order to be its defenders against those who seek our help in the 75th year of the State of Israel.

May their memory and the memory of their faces be a bundle in our hearts forever."

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• Southern Command

• The day of remembrance for the martyrs of Israel's systems and the victims of hostilities

• Eliezer Toledano