To the Editor:

This past week saw the public commemoration of two significant days for the Jewish people, Yom Ha'zikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut. Yeshiva University Israel Clubs, in conjunction with the various YU schools and Bnei Akiva, sponsored a program honoring the memories of the soldiers who have given their lives in defense of the Land and Nation of Israel, culminating in a celebration of Israeli independence, complete with a special prayer service, food, music, and dancing. Anyone who was there must surely have been impressed with the outpouring of support for the State of Israel, as demonstrated by the hundreds of Yeshiva University students in attendance.

While the ceremony, taken as a whole, was certainly moving, there were aspects of the program that were equally distressing. Specifically, I was disturbed to find that a large portion of the Yom Ha'zikaron event revolved around the terror victims and the recent wave of violence in Israel, not the 19,000 plus soldiers who have fallen since the state's inception. Traditionally, Yom Ha'zikaron has been Israeli Memorial Day, focusing on the military, with the emotional climax centered at the memorial prayers or personal anecdotes about the war dead; at the YU event, Intifada II was provided with at least equal attention. To be sure, even Yom Ha'zikaron, with its specific focus, can and should relate to the current crises in Israel, and of course it is appropriate to recognize the memories of the innocent terror victims on this day. However, when the center of attention shifts from the fallen Israeli soldiers, have we not forgotten what Yom Ha'zikaron is really all about?

Perhaps most disturbing of all is the rhetorical context that the program set for remembering terror victims from the past year. Consciously or not, the terrorism aspect of the program went far beyond providing a more tangible way of relating to a day of remembrance. Rather, it contributed to a political agenda that can only be described as wholly inappropriate for Yom Ha'zikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut. Had the organizers stopped at a dramatic reading of the victims' names (although only one speaker in the entire program mentioned a soldier killed in the line of duty), it would have been a tasteful method of making Yom Ha'zikaron more meaningful. Instead, they promulgated an extremist, exclusionary, right-wing political position every step of the way.

The multi-media presentation contained multiple slides of Palestinians throwing stones. The point of these images was driven home all-too-well by Rabbi Herschel Reichman, who dangerously referred to the Palestinians as "Amalek." Yom Ha'zikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut are about celebrating the restoration of Jewish dignity with the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in our homeland after two thousand years of exile and remembering our precious brethren who died so this could be so. This should be done positively, not by waging a negative campaign against the peace process or the Israeli government. Nor should it be considered an opportunity to put our enemies on display in any way. I am sure that the Palestinian stone throwers would want nothing more than to be immortalized in a Jewish celebration of the State of Israel.

Worst of all, the presentation continued the unfortunate politicization of the murder of Shalhevet Pass by showing a sequence of clips from her funeral procession, not to mention a few more pictures of other victims' bodies. Nearly every rabbi and politician in Israel, including a majority of rabbis from the Territories, expressed their dismay at the decision to use the body of a ten-month-old infant for political purposes. Apparently, the Israel Club decided to align itself with the extremists by participating in this unfortunate exploitation.

I hope that people walked away from Yom Ha'zikaron/Yom Ha'atzmaut event with the wonderfully positive and hopeful images: hundreds of Jews congregating to recognize and support the State of Israel with tears, prayer, and song. I also hope that in the future, the Israel Club will think more carefully and plan a non-partisan, apolitical program, so that we can be proud of the event in its entirety.

Sincerely Yours,
Naftali Balanson YC '02