Thousands Mark Memorial Day

Israel observed a day of remembrance today for its fallen soldiers. Premier Golda Meir attended Memorial Day services on Mt. Herzl. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan addressed 3000 people at the Jewish military cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, Thousands of other Israelis attended services all over the country.

Memorial Day, a 24-hour period preceding Israel’s Independence Day, was officially opened at the Western Wall last night when President Zalman Shazar lit a torch, followed by a one-minute siren blast. Army, Navy and Air Force personnel formed an honor guard around the President who was accompanied by Gen. David Elazar, Chief of Staff of Israel’s armed forces. Shazar spoke briefly. He expressed hope that God would ease the pain of bereaved families and save Israeli Elazar said that those who gave their lives in Israel’s ware did not die in vain but helped preserve the nation and its freedom.

A squad of soldiers fired three rounds into the air following a 30-minute prayer service at the Mt. of Olives cemetery, Dayan, speaking briefly, reminded his audience that “Our city of Jerusalem, this Mt. of Olives and this day of remembrance are all one thing. They are formed by the heroism of our fighters, by our adversaries of destruction, by the slaughter of the holocaust and by the revival of our people.”

Mrs. Meir eulogized the dead of Israel’s past wars and said the prospect of a new war was chilling. It is shocking, she said, to hear Arab leaders say–as President Sadat of Egypt has said–that they are willing to sacrifice 1-2 million lives in a future war against Israel. “Sadat has millions of people in Egypt. I hope and believe with all my heart that we shall have millions too,” the Premier said. “But even when we do, each of our soldiers will be our most precious and dearly protected possession and we shall grieve with each bereaved family as though one family’s loss were the loss of us all.”