Spirituality

Remembering
Heroes Of War

Local Yom HaZikaron event
memorializes Israel's fallen.

The Hillel Day School choir, Ruach, performs at the Yom HaZikaron ceremony.

Keri Guten Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

I

n a remarkable show of solidar-

ity, close to 750 people attended a
community memorial ceremony to
remember soldiers and civilians who
gave their lives so that Israel may con-
tinue to exist.
The program for Yom HaZikaron,
Israel's Memorial Day, drew a diverse
audience of families, teens, seniors
and members of Metro Detroit's Israeli
community to Hillel Day School in
Farmington Hills on April 18.
As is the custom in Israel, the pierc-
ing sound of a siren brought the sol-
emn crowd to silence in memory of the
fallen.
A highlight of the hour-long ceremo-
ny was the lighting of candles for those
who died in each of Israel's wars or
conflicts; additional candles were lit for
victims of terror and for hope for the
future. Two candles were lit together
— one by local veterans of the Israel
Defense Forces and the other by com-
munity leaders.
Local Israeli Jeremy Levy lit a candle
for his cousin, IDF Lt. Col. Emanuel
Moreno, killed in 2006's second war
with Lebanon. Moreno, who led 100
men in a surprise attack, is considered
an Israeli war hero.
The final lighter was Fred Goldberg,
21, of Flint, fresh from service in the
IDF intelligence corps. He's now a
freshman at Michigan State University.
His candle came with thoughts and
prayers for Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier
abducted in June 2006 and still held by
Hamas in Gaza.
Personal stories were offered by Dr.

Yoram Sorokin of Bloomfield Township
and IDF Capt. Nimrod Nathan. For the
first time, Sorokin spoke publicly of his
brother, Ami, killed during the Six-Day
War in 1967.
"Losing Ami was really devastating','
he said. "Forty-three years later, the
impact is still felt. It's very important to
have Yom HaZikaron ceremonies, espe-
cially away from Israel:'
Nathan, a company commander,
urged the audience to think of the
parents and families of the fallen. "The
tears of thousands are not the tears of a
mother who lost a son or a father proud
of his son and all he has are memories
and stories:' he said.
Names of civilians and soldiers
who died were read by students from
Frankel Jewish Academy in West
Bloomfield. Rabbi Lior Halevi recited
Kaddish and Cantor Daniel Gross of
Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington
Hills chanted El Maleh Rachamim
(prayer of remembrance). The Hillel
school choir sang "Eli, Eli."
Elsie Freedman of Livonia found the
program very meaningful.
"We are all Jews no matter where we
are," she said. "We are all tied heart and
soul to the State of Israel."
The program was sponsored by a
host of community organizations. Clara
Gaba and Susan Krakoff were co-chairs.
On Yom HaZikaron at the Western
Wall, Israeli President Shimon Peres
said, "Israel's strength springs from the
strength of its faith, and its greatness
emanates from the heroism of its sons.
Today we grieve for their loss and are
blessed by their legacy."

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April 22 * 2010

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