Yesterday evening (Monday), the national memorial ceremony marking one year since October 7 took place at Yarkon Park. The ceremony was organized by bereaved families from that day (when about 1,250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed) as well as from the war overall. Initially, tens of thousands were expected to attend, but due to the ongoing escalation in conflict zones, the Home Front Command imposed restrictions, limiting attendance to only 2,000 people, primarily bereaved families.
Indeed, there were at least four air raid sirens in Tel Aviv yesterday due to launches from various fronts (Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza, and Iraq), including one an hour before the ceremony and another about an hour after its conclusion.
Despite the reduced crowd, the intensity of the ceremony, hosted by Hanoch Daum and Rotem Sela, was undiminished. The ceremony featured testimonies from survivors of that day and relatives of the fallen, interwoven with somber performances of mourning songs by Israel’s leading singers, including Ivri Lider, Aviv Geffen, Miri Mesika, Keren Peles, Rita, Margalit Tzanani, Agam Buhbut, Zehava Ben, Ran Danker, Yehuda Poliker, Boaz Sharabi, Shuli Rand, Eden Hason, Ishay Levi, Gali Atari, Korin Allal, Shalom Hanoch, and the band “The Jews.” The most moving moments were when the singers’ performances connected with the evening’s theme, such as the joint performance by the band “Knessiyat HaSechel” with the late Amit Man, a paramedic from Kibbutz Be’eri, singing *”Nothing Will Hurt Me.”* Another emotional highlight was the joint performance of Shlomo Artzi with Yagil Yaakov, a young man recently released from Hamas captivity (whose father’s body is still in Gaza), singing “Fields of Irises.”
In addition, relatives of the fallen gave heartfelt speeches. Yonatan Shemriz, brother of the late Alon, who escaped captivity but was killed upon returning to IDF lines, called for collective responsibility for a better future for the country. The widows of two fallen battalion commanders, Tomer Greenberg of Battalion 13 and Salman Habka of Battalion 53, jointly called for the unity within the army to extend to the entire nation. White balloons were released in memory of the fallen female observers, and yellow balloons were launched for those still in captivity. The ceremony concluded with the singing of the national anthem, Hatikvah, and a plea for the return of the hostages, perhaps marking the beginning of a new Israeli tradition.
