Tuesday night and Wednesday, 3 Iyar 5772 is observed as Memorial Day in Israel, remembering those members of the nation’s security forces who fell in the line of duty as well as victims of Arab terror. 126 new names join the list R”L since last Memorial Day.

The Defense Ministry reports that today, there are 10,524 bereaved families that lost a total of 22,993 loved ones. This startling number includes 4,992 widows and 2,396 orphans.

A siren will be sounded nationwide at 20:00 on Tuesday marking the start of Memorial Day. Restaurants, cafes and other places of entertainment must shut down on Tuesday night. Television stations are prohibited from airing programming that is not related to the day, including cable TV channels. Another siren is heard on Wednesday morning at 11:00am, beginning the day’s memorial services in military cemeteries nationwide.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)