Friends,
Tonight, at 8pm, a siren will ring out across Israel.
Drivers will stop driving. Music will stop playing. Doctors pause their rounds. Streets and highways will come to a standstill. Together, we’ll stop and stand as one to honor those we’ve lost to terror, violence and conflict.
Yom HaZikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day. For far too many of us, this is no theoretical exercise. We grieve the lost laughter of a friend, the warm embrace of a parent, the unfulfilled ambitions of a child.
For me this is a moment not just of solidarity, but of resolve.
A long time ago, I realized that the best way to honor those we have lost to the cycle of violence and injustice is to commit ourselves to ending it.
To work toward a future in which no Israeli family and no Palestinian family is stung by the pain and trauma of needless loss.
A future in which no Israeli parent has to watch their children sent to the frontlines of the occupation to guard checkpoints, settlements and outposts.
A future in which every Israeli and Palestinian child grows up safe, secure and with equal opportunity to experience all life has to offer.
That’s why, shortly, I’ll be walking through a gauntlet of right-wing protesters to attend the joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial service. I’ll be joined by bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families, with the latter able to attend thanks to a last-minute reprieve from the Supreme Court, overturning the Netanyahu government’s attempts to ban West Bank residents from attending.
As I’ve written before, I see this shared memorial event not only as a demonstration of a shared commitment to peace, but as a profound expression of Jewish values. Of empathy, compassion, justice and resolve.
Tomorrow evening, we will move from a day of pain and remembrance to one of celebration, as we mark Israel’s 75th Independence Day, Yom Ha'atzmaut.
That our Independence Day is marked on the day after our Memorial Day is no accident. It reminds us that freedom and self-determination are hard won, that the struggle to make true our founding ideals of justice, equality and democracy is ongoing.
This year -- as we battle on the streets, in the parliament and in the courts to save our democracy and uphold Israel’s founding values against an all-out assault from Prime Minister Netanyahu and his far-right allies -- this moment seems more pertinent than ever.
Just this weekend, we witnessed some of the largest pro-democracy protests yet in towns and cities across the country, and from our allies in the US and around the world.
The strength and endurance of this pro-democracy movement is truly unprecedented. It fills me with inspiration and hope. This is what rising to the moment looks like.
At the same time, as I recall my experiences serving in occupied territory, I know that we Israelis cannot truly be at peace -- in either security or conscience -- until the Palestinian people are also permitted to realize their fundamental right to freedom, peace and self-determination.
The founding values enshrined in our Declaration of Independence demand an end to the injustice of occupation and discrimination, and the realization of true peace, justice and democracy.
In recommitting to that work, I am truly humbled that we can continue to count on your support. Fighting for our founding values is what it means to be pro-Israel, pro-peace and pro-democracy.
I’m thankful, sincerely, to stand beside you in this work.
Nadav Tamir,
Executive Director, J Street Israel
