Reuven Rivlin last night:
Addressing a large crowd at the start of the Independence Day ceremony at the military cemetery in Jerusalem, Parliament speaker Reuven Rivlin described the sharp transition between the two national holidays, Remembrance Day and Independance Day:
"There is no more Israeli moment than this moment—the sharp transition from the lit celebrations and within touching distance the shades of bereavement; here it is Independence Day Eve, and there, opposite, it is still, and will be throughout the year, Remembrance Day."
Rivlin also had this to say:
"I fear a rift that could bring disaster upon us all. I fear grating voices that turn their back to the covenant binding us to the land, from the mocking towards those who love and are faithful to the land, of the atmosphere of crossing boundaries that were never crossed, of voices of refusal and disengagement from the country."
"More than anything I fear that this will be a year of civil war," Rivlin said. "How will we stand here on the 58th Independence Day if this coming year, brothers will spill each other's blood?"
And Aaron Lerner, director of IMRA, had this to say about the choice of some of the torch-lighters at last night's ceremony.
For the first time, this year, the torch lighting ceremony (12 torches for the 12 tribes of Israel) at the opening Independent Day program on Mount Herzl also honored two people living overseas - a wealthy philanthropist (Charles R. Bronfman) and an ex-Israeli now teaching Hebrew in California (it was not clear what distinguished her for the honor).
It remains to be seen if this was a one time gesture or if this has established a precedent that each year a wealthy foreign Jew and a "yored" [ex-Israeli] will be honored at a ceremony that until now honored people living in the country who made great sacrifices for the State.
You gotta wonder.
