The IDF’s all-Chareidi Chashmonaim Brigade, held a Yom Hazikaron ceremony Monday evening at its training base in the Jordan Valley. The event took place despite earlier media reports claiming that troops in the unit would not participate in such observances.

The ceremony included the recitation of Yizkor, the lighting of a memorial flame, lowering the Israeli flag to half-mast, and the singing of the national anthem, Hatikva, the IDF said.

Col. Shemer Raviv, commander of the brigade, spoke at the ceremony.

“On this day, we pause our daily routine, bow our heads, and unite in remembrance of the fallen, those who gave their lives so that we may live here, in this land, in safety,” Raviv said. “This day expresses the deep spiritual bond between all parts of the nation, a day on which an entire people gathers around a shared memory, shared pain, and immeasurable gratitude.”

Some members of the brigade are currently deployed in Lebanon, where Yom Hazikaron ceremonies were held “in accordance with operational activity,” the military said.

Earlier in the day, Channel 13 reported that soldiers in the Chareidi unit would not participate in Yom Hazikaron or Yom Ha’atzmaut events in an effort to limit exposure to Zionist content. The IDF ceremony appears to contradict that report.

At a separate Yom Hazikaron event for fallen Chareidi soldiers, Bezalel Smotrich compared those killed in Israel’s conflicts to the students of Rabbi Akiva.

“Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students who have been joined by 25,648 students. Students of Torah and students of valor,” Smotrich said, referring to the total number of individuals who have died in service to the country since 1860.

The event was attended by several Chareidi public figures, including Aryeh Deri, former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)