Yom haZikaron is the day Israel marks to honor its fallen soldiers, victims of terrorism and all who have died defending the state of Israel. According to the Jewish reckoning of time, it began on the evening of April 27 this year at around 8:00 P.M. and lasts until the evening of the next day.

President Rivlin spoke in the square in front of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and said it was sad there couldn’t be a mass public commemoration because of the virus epidemic. He said while we can’t cry together, we still remember and give honor to the 23,861 soldiers and victims of terrorism.

In Israel the commemorative holiday begins with an air-raid siren. People simply stop whatever they are doing and give honor to the dead. Those driving pull over and get out of their cars. All commercial activity ceases and people at the dinner table stop eating and sit in silence.

This year memorial sites and cemeteries were closed to visitors because of the Wuhan virus. Police were deployed to block entry but were also ordered to avoid confrontations with those who had lost family members if they decided to ignore the order to stay away. The Supreme Court of Israel rejected at the last minute a petition by Israelis to rescind the ban, saying while it was painful, it wasn’t illegal.

Memory is central in Jewish tradition. Jewish prayers and rituals focus on recollections of God’s miracles and the acts of Jewish forefathers. Israelis assume personal responsibility for remembering those who have sacrificed their lives, have fallen in battle, who have been persecuted and who have become victims of terrorism. Each community in Israel remembers its fallen soldiers, victims of terrorism, Holocaust victims and victims of other historical events.