Democracy Dies in Darkness

A traumatized Israel remembers its fallen and eyes an uncertain future

In a nation where most 18-year-olds do some form of military service, Memorial Day is sacred and solemn. Even more so in the aftermath of Oct. 7.

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Updated May 13, 2024 at 10:40 a.m. EDT|Published May 13, 2024 at 9:42 a.m. EDT
Sirens blared across Israel on May 13, as the country marked its first Memorial Day since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. (Video: Reuters)
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TEL AVIV — Israelis gathered at military cemeteries and memorial sites across the country on Monday, laying wreaths, lighting remembrance candles and collectively remembering the lives lost and changed since Oct. 7, the deadliest assault in Israeli history.

In a country where a mandatory draft applies to nearly all 18-year-olds, Memorial Day is a sacrosanct national holiday. It comes a week after Remembrance Day, in which Israel commemorates the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and at sundown is followed by Independence Day, which is usually filled with street festivities and fireworks.