INSEPARABLE 

I have often wondered why Israel continues to mark Remembrance Day the day before Independence Day. Separating the two events would appear to be relatively simple. By rearranging the national events calendar, organisers and legislators could separate the two days and the sharp transition from mourning to celebration could be avoided.

After reading Maya Margit’s post in The Media Line  I realise that it is easier said than done.

Ms. Margit explains that Israel’s Remembrance Day that began on Tuesday evening with sirens wailing all over Israel is a solemn occasion when places of entertainment are closed and wreath-laying ceremonies are held at war memorials throughout the country. A second siren sounds the following morning at 11:00, marking the start of the main memorial ceremony at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

A few hours later, on Wednesday evening, Israelis will suddenly cross over from grief to celebration, as the country fetes its 74th Independence Day.

Maya Margit quoted Dr. Mordecai Naor, an author and researcher specialising in the history of the state of Israel and the Jewish people. He told her that marking the two days consecutively happened ‘by chance.’

“The Kfar Etzion massacre perpetrated on May 13, 1948 during Israel’s War of Independence, one day before the founding of the State of Israel, was a tragedy that had to be commemorated.

Approximately 129 Jews – the exact number is disputed – were murdered by Arab irregulars and Jordanian forces at Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, which is located in the Judean Hills beyond the Green Line that demarcates Israel’s pre-1967 borders. The massacre took place following a two-day battle between Jewish and Arab forces. Jewish members of the kibbutz, who reportedly had surrendered, were said to have been rounded up in a courtyard and shot. Eventually, their remains were interred at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.

While Israel’s Independence Day celebrations were enshrined into law as a state holiday in 1949, Remembrance Day was only confirmed by law many years later. In fact, until 1963, marking Memorial Day just before Independence Day was a custom and not a law. With the passage of time, the link between the two days increased and people began to say that it is impossible to celebrate Israel’s independence without also remembering the heavy price the nation paid.”

I fully intended to write about Remembrance Day and Independence Day with emphasis on these events in my kibbutz and neighbouring communities. However, I couldn’t overlook the Hebron flyover. I’m not referring to a traffic junction, but a brief flight over Hebron included in the traditional Independence Day celebrations

"The flyover will take place during Independence Day between 10:30-13:30 and will pass over dozens of cities and major points in the country, from Dan to Eilat," an IDF spokesperson said.

Various aircraft will take part in the flyover., Fighter jets, fighter helicopters, assault helicopters, refuelling and transport aircraft and Heron TP remotely manned aircraft (UAVs) will all make an appearance, as well as Israeli police helicopters as an expression of cooperation between the two security branches.

The Air Force's aerobatic team will perform aerial performances with "Efroni" planes from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The Independence Day flyover will, for the first time, pass over the West Bank city of Hebron, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as well as the settlement of Kiryat Arba.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron also referred to as the cave of Machpelah, is regarded by observant Jews as one of the the holiest sites in the country. It is claimed to be the burial place of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. According to Jewish mystical tradition, it’s also the entrance to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve are buried

At this juncture I want to add a margin note;

A few years ago, I visited Hebron and the cave of the Machpelah on a trip organised by our local Judaism study circle. The same mystical tradition claims that anyone approaching the place where Adam and Eve are buried senses a distinct draft coming from the Garden of Eden. During our visit I veered off from the main group in search of the draft. Needless to say, I didn’t find it, but that’s as close as I will ever get to the Garden of Eden. I hope I haven’t offended anyone.

Back to the main text:

In July 2017, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution to have the Tomb of the Patriarchs, designated as an endangered Palestinian world heritage site, maybe because the Muslim “latecomers” adopted the site and built the Al Ibrahimi Mosque there,

In my humble opinion that sounds like a political statement.

Hebron and Kiryat Arba are not the only West Bank localities the Air Force plans to fly over — the Gush Etzion settlement bloc is also included in the route.

That too is a political statement. I wonder if UNESCO will have anything to say about that.

The flyover is set to begin at 10 a.m. on May 5, with an aerial display of military aircraft crossing the entire length of the country.

The Israel Air Line Pilots Association originally  announced that the May 5 event — dubbed the Peace Fly-by 2022 — was planned to include aircraft from Emirati Etihad Airways and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi alongside planes from Israeli airlines.

Sources at Etihad later told the Israel Airline Pilots Association that they will not be able to take part in the aerial display due to not having enough time to prepare for the event. 

According to Israel Army Radio the real reason for the cancellation was the recent clashes at the Temple Mount.

A more threatening reaction to the Temple Mount clashes came from Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar who vowed to attack ‘thousands of synagogues’ worldwide if police raid Al-Aqsa Mosque. He urged West Bank Palestinians and Israeli Arabs to carryout terror attacks.

I think it’s apt here to add a footnote about Yahya Sinwar:

Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar was born in 1962 in a refugee camp in Khan Yunis and attended the Khan Yunis Secondary School for Boys. After high school, he attended the Islamic University of Gaza, where he graduated with a bachelors degree in Arabic studies.  

While attending university in 1982, Sinwar was arrested for the first time. In prison he became friendly with Palestinian activists, and decided to dedicate himself to the Palestinian cause.  

In 1985, Sinwar founded Hamas’s security branch, whose job included punishing “morality” offenders and killing Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel. His enthusiasm for executing collaborators led Israeli interrogators to refer to him as “the Butcher from Khan Younis.”

In 1988, Sinwar was arrested again and sentenced to four life terms in an Israeli prison for attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm through sabotage. During his confinement, Sinwar complained of severe headaches and following medical examination he was diagnosed to be suffering from a brain tumour. The tumour was removed successfully by a team of Israeli surgeons, thus saving his life   life.

Sinwar was released in 2011, one of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners exchanged for a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was captured in 2006 and held hostage in Gaza for five years by Hamas. Sinwar was the most senior prisoner released in the prisoner exchange.

His threatening statements might be no more than empty rhetoric, if not it will be a pity if all that expensive brain  surgery goes to waste!

Once again back to the main text and to conclude by wishing you a Happy Independence Day.

 

Beni.                                                                                       5^th of May, 2022.