These are exactly the headlines that we do not see in Israel for the two holiest days of the secular year. Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, and Yom HaAtzmeut, Israel’s Independence Day, are not shopping holidays. In a country in which nearly all its citizens know the feeling of losing a loved one to terror or defense of the State, Israelis observe their Memorial Day with reverence and honor for the dead. In a young democracy, many of Israel’s inhabitants can still recall a time when Israel was a dream, only to wake up one morning to experience the dream fulfilled. These sacred civil holidays are treated as days when we break from the mundane and honor the unique place in time in which we exist—a time in which Jews are able to call their ancient land home once more. As Jews, we know all too well what it means to mix sorrow with joy. We experience it at the Pesach seder, when we celebrate Purim, and when we gather for Yom Kippur. In Israel, the whiplash change from memorial to … [Read more...]