‘Israel in the eye of the storm since its founding’

“Loss does not fade with time; it changes shape, but it remains,” Naama Scop told the Yom Hazikaron gathering at the Israeli embassy in Pretoria on Tuesday morning. 

Scop, who is Consul and Head of Administration at the embassy, said, “The families who carry this loss walk with it every single day, learning to live alongside the absence of those they love most. Your strength, your resilience, and your ability to continue forward, even through pain, are a testament to the enduring human spirit.” 

The embassy held a gathering to commemorate 174 fallen soldiers and 79 victims of terror lost this past year. Their deaths brought the cumulative number of people killed in defence of the State of Israel and in terrorist attacks there to more than 30 000. 

Scop said that Yom Hazikaron is not only about mourning, it’s about telling the stories of those lost. 

“Each name carries a world within it: dreams, laughter, courage, and love,” she said. “When we speak their names, when we recall their lives, we ensure that they remain part of us, part of our collective story. 

“Since the events of 7 October, our nation has faced pain, loss, and uncertainty on a scale we haven’t seen before. Yet even as we face these hardships, we are reminded that Israel has lived in the eye of the storm since its very founding. The struggle for security, for existence, and for peace has never been abstract; it has always been real, immediate, and deeply personal.” 

She said, “Memory is not something that lives in ceremonies, but in everyday moments ‒ in a familiar song, in a shared meal, in the quiet spaces where absence is most deeply felt.” 

As a representative of Israel abroad, she feels this reality every day. “In times like these, the role of Israeli diplomats carries a special weight. We are tasked not only with representing our country, but with telling its human story ‒ your story. Here in South Africa, this mission can be particularly challenging, as we navigate a complex environment and at times face difficult positions from those around us. Yet it is precisely here that our presence matters so much. Israeli missions around the world serve as bridges, between people, between communities, between truth and understanding. 

“And today, standing before you, I am reminded that the strongest bridge of all is the one built within our own people. The bond between us ‒ across continents, across generations ‒ is unbreakable. It is rooted in shared memory, in shared grief, but also in shared hope.” 

She said to the bereaved families at the ceremony, “Please know that you are not alone. We stand with you, and we carry this loss together. Your loved ones will always be part of our nation’s heart, and their memory continues to guide us forward. 

“We honour their memory not only with sorrow, but through the way we choose to go on ‒ with courage, with purpose, and with care for one another. In difficult times, we hold on to what binds us together, and we continue forward, carrying both the pain and the strength they have left us.”