Israel marked its Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks on Tuesday against the backdrop of some of the deepest political divisions in its history and soaring tensions with Palestinians.
Memorial Day is one of the most solemn moments on Israel’s national calendar, in honor of its 24,213 war dead and 4,255 attack victims. It is typically a day of national unity but this year, tensions between Israeli supporters and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government bubbled up.
As is customary, people across the country came to a standstill when a two-minute siren sounded late in the morning. Motorists and pedestrians halted in the street, stopped their cars and stood with heads bowed. Bereaved families visited cemeteries and attended ceremonies while television and radio programming shifted to somber music and documentaries about slain soldiers.
This year, Memorial Day is tainted by deep divisions roiling the country over a contentious plan by Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary. “Citizens of Israel, the siren this year, the intensely Israeli signature call, is a wake-up call for all of us. The cost of internal strife is heavy,” Israel’s figurehead President Isaac Herzog said late Monday at the official ceremony marking the start of the day of remembrance.
But all of it is shadowed by a bitter split over the legal overhaul plan. Fighter pilots have threatened to stop reporting for duty. The nation’s leaders have openly warned of civil war, and families of fallen soldiers have called on politicians to stay away from the ceremonies. Many Israelis wonder if the deep split can ever heal.
Just before the sirens wailed, the Israeli military said a shooting attack Tuesday in the West Bank wounded one Israeli.
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