On Tuesday night, a huge memorial was held with the participation of more than 1,000 chareidim in memory of the fallen IDF soldiers. MK Yaakov Margi, on behalf of the Shas faction that participated in the event, said that “this is a historic day and hence there is no turning back.” The public read Mishnayos and Tehillim in memory of the fallen, and Kaddish was said. The memorial was initiated by the “Netzach Yehuda” association in coordination with the Ministry of Defense and the Chareidi Administration in the IDF.

For the first time since the establishment of the state, a state event was held in memory of the fallen IDF soldiers who were designated and adapted to the chareidi tzibur. The event was dedicated to the memory of the fallen IDF soldiers, including the first Nachal Chareidi soldiers, who were established in the early 1960s until after the Yom Kippur War, and the chareidi service routes currently in the IDF.

The evening was attended by MK Yaakov Margi of Shas, Jerusalem Chief Rabbi HaGaon HaRav Aryeh Stern, bereaved families, members of the Netzach Yehuda Association, past and present chareidi soldiers, IDF representatives, rabbonim and public figures.

MK Margi addressed the bereaved families and said, “There is no measure to the heavy debt experienced by all of us, citizens of the State of Israel, to the fallen and to you. This debt is a candle on our feet, and we will not stop, and we will not let go, to pursue the peace that is forbidden to come.”

He then addressed the chareidi fallen adding, “All of them full worlds, all dreams that were shelved, all love and longing, and all of them are grief and pain that never ends.”

Dudi Roth, the nephew of David Eliyahu Fuerst, who fell in the Naot HaKikar disaster, described the family’s life in Bnei Brak: “For the sake of educating the children, my grandparents settled in the city of Bnei Brak. I remember my late grandfather who who would get up every morning at four in the morning for my daily shiur, and my grandmother, who was worried that he would not miss anything. They were makpid on a kula as a chumra out of a sense of responsibility and desire to give to their son, David Eliyahu, who enlisted in combat service within the framework of Nachal Chareidi.

Roth said, “this generation paved our way with blood, sweat and faith,” and he ended with a feeling of a missed opportunity. “My grandmother A”H has been waiting for this memorial for 48 years and only now is this happening, but she is no longer here to see it.”

Rabbi David Fuchs, one of the rabbonim of Netzach Yehuda and one of the founders of the Nachal Chareidi (1999), said that “the event was exciting and formative. This is the first time that the chareidi units have been properly commemorated in a state event suited to the chareidi public. More than a thousand people came to participate with the grieving bereaved families in a deep sense of belonging.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)