Independence celebration pays homage to Israel’s fallen

The joy at Israel’s independence on Yom Ha’atzmaut is inseparable from the grief and mourning over the fallen that the nation experiences on Yom Hazikaron just a day earlier, said Adi Cohen Hazanov, the chargé d’affaires for the Israeli embassy in South Africa.

Despite what people may think, the longest war in Israel is the War of Independence that began in 1948, “because in truth, it never ended”, Cohen Hazanov told those gathered on 30 April for the second Yom Hazikaron since 7 October 2023.

At this gathering, the words of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, 10 days after the Arab coalition launched a surprise attack during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, have never seemed more pertinent.

A mother of a fallen soldier read Meir’s words: “Every Israeli soldier who falls in battle is precious, not only to his family, but to all of us.” These words show that there’s little difference between the Yom Kippur War and the one that began on Simchat Torah, Cohen Hazanov said. The heart of the nation still aches the same way it did about 50 years ago.

The Jewish community, bereaved family members of the fallen, members of the diplomatic corps, and members of Parliament from the Democratic Alliance and the African Christian Democratic Party gathered at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria on 30 April to commemorate the 25 420 people who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that Israel could continue to be a beacon of hope for the Jewish world.

“For nearly 77 years, governments have changed, borders have shifted, but the core principle remains,” Cohen Hazanov said, “The Jewish people have never had the luxury of taking their existence for granted, not for a single day. We are a nation in a state of ongoing mourning that touches every family and every heart in one way or another.”

This year’s ceremony was dedicated not only to those who fell in battle, but to those who returned and are fighting invisible battles every day.

“Many are still struggling to find their way back to life after losing their friends and witnessing horrors no-one should ever see. We honour them for the immense weight that they are carrying and the daily sacrifice they continue to make,” Cohen Hazanov said.

She told the audience that when she was a young officer, she lost a soldier under her command, Hila Betzalel, who will forever remain 21 years old.

“I arrived one morning at the introduction base to greet a new group of recruits. Among the uniformed figures in line, I spotted a familiar, smiling pair of eyes. Hila and I had studied at the same high school in Jerusalem and shared a special bond,” she said.

“Hila had that rare spark, a light joy, chutzpah, which is Israeli rudeness, and a sense of purpose,” she said, “She went on to become a combat medic, then a battalion medical officer. I had the honour of passing her my own officer rank, a small gesture to bless her journey.”

In 2012, Betzalel was chosen as an outstanding officer to participate in the national Independence Day torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl. On 18 April, during the final rehearsal on Yom Hashoah, the lighting structure collapsed, killing her.

Hours later, Cohen Hazanov stood in the rain attending Betzalel’s funeral on Mount Herzl, a mere few metres from where she was killed.

“Hila was one of the 25 420 fallen, whose life was extinguished under different circumstances. Yet all began at the same place, the day they chose to defend the state of Israel, even at the cost of their lives,” said Cohen Hazanov. “They inherit the legacy of those who came before them and are shaped in their image. Military service in Israel might be mandated by law, but in truth, it’s a profound zchut, a choice to embrace the privilege of defending our homeland and its people. When the burden becomes heavy, we lift it together shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart.”

Cohen Hazanov said that the birth of the state of Israel was carved out of deep love and sorrow based on our national and historical rights, and to ensure that the kind of pogroms our grandparents endured would never happen again.

However, on 7 October 2023, that mission failed, and the people of Israel were left helpless within the borders of their own country.

“And yet, in the complete darkness of the day, stars emerged, not one or two, but a shower of meteors. Acts of heroism were shining their way through the battlefield,” she said. “Hundreds rushed south without orders, without uniforms, sometimes even without a weapon, driven by the commitment and values they inherited.”