The Price of Freedom
Today is Yom HaZikaron, the Israeli Memorial Day. In considering the fatalities Israel has faced in its quest for freedom and independence, the numbers alone do not tell the whole story. The total number of Israelis killed in attaining and defending freedom stands at 28,468, including 4,255 victims of terror. With six million Israelis and about 330 million Americans, the ratio of Israeli deaths to American deaths is 55-1. So, if the number of Israelis killed in action were Americans, there would be 1,565,8740. That would be 17 percent of the Israeli population! Now you can see why every Israeli life is precious. They cannot afford a long, high casualty war.
A young Jewish friend of mine who moved to Israel while on the Birthright Israel young adult tour of Israel joined the army. He became a leader of a squad, and he told me that on every Memorial Day he visited the family of every member of his unit who died. That touched me deeply, as it showed how much he cared for his men. I feel the same way when I attend a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces event. To see the soldiers wounded in battle or hear the stories of the families touched by the loss of their children taken from them in defending their country is heartbreaking. Yet they serve gladly realizing that they are the defenders of freedom for Israel and for their fellow Jews.
The risks are high as they face terror attacks in a variety of ways, like the car ramming into a group of people today that left five people injured, one critically. As Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed today, “It reminds us that the Land of Israel and the State of Israel were acquired through many tribulations. We are united ‘under the stretcher,’ our sons and our daughters continue to carry the stretcher, the burden of responsibility for the fate of our nation.”
To each of those who lost a loved one in battle, you are not alone. A grateful nation and world stand with you, and weeps with you. To those whose loved ones came back wounded or broken in body and spirit, they demonstrate “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” We humbly, sincerely, thank you for sharing the gift of your child on our behalf. Know that the price they paid was not in vain. As Jesus said, “No greater love has any man than this: that a man lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Thank you, Toda Raba, and God bless you. May their memory be a Blessing!
(Source: The Times of Israel)
