On April 29, the Consul General of Israel in New York marked Yom Hazikaron at a ceremony held at Temple Emanu-El in the Upper East Side. The event was attended by approximately 800 people, including bereaved families, heads of Jewish organizations, foreign ambassadors and New York residents.
In powerful words, Consul General Ofir Akunis remembered those who have fallen since Oct. 7. “In just this latest war, we have lost 850 beautiful and young souls. Men, women, secular, religious, from all around the country. Each with a story that can’t be written by them anymore but must continue to be written by each and every one of us.”
Recognizing all of those who have fallen in past years, Akunis stated: “This evening, we are here to honor and salute our heroes. The fallen soldiers of the IDF and other security forces, and those we have lost due to terror attacks. They have paid the highest price to ensure we can all live in freedom and we must remember them every single day.”
Akunis also reflected upon Israel’s desire for peace in the face of those who only want to inflict evil upon it. “Israel has always extended its hand for peace, but our neighbors have chosen war and massacres. Not only since Oct. 7, not only since 1948, but even before — and we do not forget that. We say to the international community that criticizes us: check the facts and the truth before embracing the lies of Israel’s enemies.”
Conveying a strong and powerful message regarding the internal strife in Israel, Akunis stated: “To all our brothers and sisters in Israel, I say from here: stop the internal hatred among us. We have enough enemies around us. It is legitimate to disagree and debate, but there is a way to do so. For 70 generations, we waited to return to our homeland and establish a state, and now we are called upon to show unity — for the fallen, for the victims of terror, and for the 59 hostages still held by Hamas.”
Danielle Edri Karten remembered her brother, Sharon Yehuda Edri, an IDF soldier who in 1996 was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists affiliated with Hamas.
Libby Alon, news correspondent for Channel 14 news in Israel, remembered the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympic Games. Alon told the story of her uncle, the late Dan Alon, a fencer and member of the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Olympics who miraculously survived the Munich massacre.
On September 5, Alon woke up to the sound of gunfire and he and his roommates managed to escape by jumping from a first-floor window.
“Before fleeing, Dan put a sweatshirt with a Star of David on. He said ‘he wanted the world to know if I die, I want the world to know I died as a Jew.’”
Alon survived a brutal terrorist attack. But in memory of all those who fell so that we can have a State of Israel, we remember.
Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook group. You can follow her on instagram @nyc.shtetl. She is a lawyer by day and a former legal reporter.
