Remembering Israel’s Fallen.

Ten years ago, as part of the commemorations on Memorial Day (Yom HaZikaron), the IDF radio station Galei Tzahal initiated a project entitled “Soon We Will Become a Song” in which prominent Israeli musicians volunteer to write scores for and perform songs written by soldiers who fell in the line of duty. 

This song –‘Nothing’s gonna hurt me’ – was written by Lieutenant Erez Shtark and is performed by Knessiat HaSechel. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmwQBvgVxm8]

Erez, from Kiryat Ata, was 21 when he and 72 others were killed on the evening of February 4th, 1997 in a crash between two helicopters in northern Israel. Eight Yasur crew members were transporting 65 soldiers to active duty in Lebanon in the two helicopters, as transport by road had been deemed unsafe due to the prevalence of Hizballah roadside bombs. There were no survivors when the two aircraft crashed over Moshav Sha’ar Yishuv and Kibbutz Dafna. 

At the memorial near Sha’ar Yishuv, 73 standing stones commemorate the soldiers who came from cities, towns, villages, moshavim and kibbutzim all over Israel. Religious and secular, Jew, Bedouin and Druze are all united by the fact that they lost their lives defending their country. 

 In the past year 126 new names have been added to the list of 22,993 soldiers who gave their lives in defence of our country and the 2,477 civilian victims of terror atrocities. Today we remember them all, and think of their families – Israelis from all backgrounds bound together by loss. 

May their memories be blessed יהי זכרם ברוך

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