Israel’s enemies don’t want you to see this. They don’t want you to know that even on Israel’s Memorial Day, the Jewish people aren’t broken.
Celebrating a Birthday on Israel’s Memorial Day
Tzur Yaniv, whose two brothers were killed earlier this year in an Arab Muslim terrorist attack, celebrated his bar mitzvah alongside their graves in Jerusalem during Israel’s Memorial Day last Tuesday.
Hamas member Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha shot dead 21-year-old Hallel Menachem Yaniv and 19-year-old Yagel Yaniv while they were driving through the main Samaria road through the Arab village of Huwara on Feb. 26. Tzur, 13, marked the rite of passage into adulthood wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of his two slain brothers, flanked by his parents, Shalom and Esti, and sisters Rachel and Kama.
This says so much about the Jewish people. Yes, we must mourn on Israel’s Memorial Day. The entire nation of Israel mourns Israeli soldiers who were killed and civilians who were murdered by Muslim Arabs in terrorist attacks. We give ourselves time to mourn. Because we must remember those who gave their lives so that we can continue to live our lives in the holiest land in the world, the Jewish homeland. Our enemies try to break us. But we don’t break. And the fact that a 13 year old and his family can celebrate this important birthday – the age where he has his Bar Mitzvah – at the gravesites of his two murdered brothers is powerful. The Jewish people love life. They will continue to celebrate the milestones and the happy occasions.
The nation of Israel is staying in the land of Israel. And what happened at Mount Herzl on Israel’s Memorial Day sends that message loud and clear.