JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel today honors the more than 24,000 people who lost their lives defending the nation and the Jewish people going back to 1860, as well as more than 4,200 terror victims. A terror attack near central Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market added an extra somber note before the first siren sounded to begin the commemoration Monday.
A 39-year-old Arab from a Jerusalem suburb rammed his car into pedestrians at a busy intersection. Five people were injured, including a man in his 80’s who is fighting for his life. The attacker was shot and killed by a civilian.
At a ceremony to remember the Fallen of Israel’s Wars in Jerusalem Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the terror attack that had happened moments earlier. “This terrorist attack, in this place, at this time, reminds us that the land of Israel and the State of Israel are acquired through many trials and tribulations,” he noted.
Netanyahu added, “These terrorist attacks come with the expectation that they will overcome us and will uproot us from here, and if they could, they would murder us all. But they will not overcome us; we will overcome them. We have established an exemplary state with an exemplary army and police, at a heart-rending price.”
Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, along with other dignitaries will be on hand at Mt. Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem for the main ceremony Tuesday. Ceremonies will mark the day at 52 cemeteries and memorial halls throughout Israel.
At sunset Tuesday, the nation will transition from mourning to celebration of Israel’s 75th anniversary, the date on the Jewish calendar in 1948 when David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence, announcing the birth of the modern Jewish State.
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