Yom HaZikaron

One of the unique things about March of the Living is having the opportunity to spend Yom Ha'zikaron and Yom Ha' atzmaot in Israel with Israelis. We had the privledge of observing Yom Ha'zikaron with our friends in Cincinnati's sister city Netanya the other day and it was great. Our kids first bonded with Netanya teens just like them in the evening. We all met at Ha'atzmaot Square for a community memorial observance. The square and the streets were packed with people. When a moment of silence was called in commemoration of those who died for the State of Israel, not a sound was heard -- not even a single cell phone! The entire ceremony was in Hebrew and included poems and songs, but even not knowing the language, I felt like I understood it all. When wreaths were laid to honor the fallen, two of our participants, Daniel Allen and Abby Kreines, walked with other Netanyans to lay the wreath from Cincinnati.

Finally, everyone rose to sing Hatikva and as we were singing I realized that the last time we had sang The Hope, the national anthem for the State of Israel, we were standing in Block 11 in Auschwitz. It's amazing how far we've come since then.

Shalom! I'm off to climb Masada. Shabbat Shalom if I don't get another opportunity to post.

Natalie