ISRAEL LOSES 73 SONS
THE JEWISH WORLD MOURNS
THE JEWISH WORLD MOURNS
There were no survivors.
Eight of the 73 fallen soldiers were air
force crewmen, while the others were combat troops on their way to outposts
in Southern Lebanon.
Eyewitnesses said that they heard an explosion in the
sky and saw the helicopters falling in flames. One of the helicopters
crashed into an empty home in Moshav She'ar Yashuv, some 10 kilometers east
of Kiryat Shmonah, and the other fell near the cemetery of the adjacent
Kibbutz Dafna.
No one on the ground at the site of the crash was hurt.
The soldiers were being transported by helicopter in order to avoid the
danger of roadside bombs that Hizbullah has recently been using against IDF
troops. Among the deceased were five soldiers on reserves duty.
The government met this morning and declared the next 24 hour-period,
beginning with the first funerals this afternoon, a day of national
mourning.
Flags will fly at half-mast, and places of entertainment will be
closed. Schools will devote time in all classes to discuss the calamity,
and special assemblies will be held in schools tomorrow, Thursday.
The
Chief Rabbinate has called for tomorrow to be observed as a day of fasting
(for those who are able) and prayer; a special prayer service will be held
at the Western Wall tomorrow at 4 PM. They have suggested that Pirkei Tehillim (psalms) 13, 20, 121, 130, and 142 be recited during tomorrow morning's tefila.
The Orthodox Union and Rabbinical Council of America in mourning the deaths of Israeli Soldiers have called on all Jewish congregations around the world to adhere to the Chief Rabbinate's call.
An investigation into the accident has been underway as of 7 AM this
morning, headed by former Israel Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. (res.) David
Ivri.
The investigative team will also include Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Yaron,
former chief infantry and paratroops commander and director of personnel;
former Chief Justice of the Military Appeals Court Maj.-Gen. (res.)
Ben-Tzion Farhi; Brig.-Gen. Shmuel Eldar, an expert on helicopters; and
former Justice Chaim Shapira.
The Minister of Defense explained of the need
for a committee of these experts due to the size of the disaster- the worst
air tragedy ever within the IDF.
The Knesset convened for a special session today at 11:00 AM. Prime Minster
Binyamin Netanyahu, Opposition leader and former Chief of Staff Ehud Barak,
Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai, and Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shachak
addressed the nation from the Knesset plenum.
The Prime Minister called out
"How the mighty have fallen!" quoting from King David's biblical eulogy for
Jonathon. He said that these few words express the pain and the shock of
the nation in the face of this national tragedy, just as they did for our
nation thousands of years ago.
"Even at this difficult hour," continued the
Prime Minister, "we must overcome the shock and say to the victims' families
that the loss of their beloved ones were not in vain. They, along with
their heroic comrades who gave of themselves in dangerous undertakings,
constitute the necessary yet painful building blocks of the revival of our
nation in its land."
Ehud Barak declared, "Today there is no opposition,
and no coalition; we are all part of the IDF."
Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau spoke this afternoon with Arutz-7.
He said that
the Mayor of Haifa, General (res.) Amram Mitzna called him late this
morning, thanking him for his words today on Israel Radio.
Rabbi Lau
repeated for Arutz-7 that there are phenomena in this world that are beyond
our understanding. He quoted the verse in Isaiah, "For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts."
Rabbi Lau said, "We have no choice but to contemplate
this terrible sacrifice that went up in flames to the heavens, and to cry
out to G-d for an explanation.
We have no choice but to know that although
we do not understand, this is what He decided and this how He is directing
the events.
May their pure souls intervene on behalf of Israel that "peace
and everlasting joy" should reign in the Land."
The Dan Bus Company announced that it is providing free bus transportation
for all those who wish to attend any of the funerals in its area of service
(the Gush Dan region).
Bezek, Israel's main telephone company, last night
made free phone lines available for soldiers to notify their families that
they were OK.
Letters and calls of consolation have been received by members of the
government from leaders around the world. President Clinton wrote to Prime
Minister Netanyahu, "Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and
friends, and all the people of Israel, at this difficult time."
They say that this is an accident, a catastrophe. But really this is a war,
and those who died last night are war heroes. For the heroism is not only in
the battle itself, but also in the readiness to fight the battle, the
going-out to war, the total giving. They say that this is a war of defense
for the North, but really this is a war to defend Haifa, and Tel Aviv, and
Jerusalem, and the entire country. All of us know, as we unite together in
our mourning for those who fell last night, and last week, and maybe even -
sad to say - in the weeks ahead, that even if the battle rages on many
kilometers away, it is in truth a battle for our homes, for my home, for
your home; for your children, for my children.
Therefore, there is truth in
the only possible consolation: they did not fall in vain. Their deaths
gave us not only life, but also the strength and determination to persist,
to continue to defend ourselves against any and all of our enemies.
Moshav She'ar Yashuv. We will remember the place that has today been added
to the long list of sites of Jewish heroism of the Jewish people in their land.
This name appears in the Bible, as the name of the son of Isaiah the
Prophet, and afterwards as an expression of the revival of the Jewish People
as it returns to its land and its "Great G-d" - a phrase not often found in the
Bible.
Together with Isaiah, and all of the generations, let us be
comforted with the faith that
we have a "Great G-d," Who has granted strength to all of us. May the
memory of the fallen be a source of strength, life, to the 'eternity of
Israel' that will not be forgotten.
REMARKS: MOSHE FEIGLIN
The funeral processions will begin shortly all over the country. The dust
of this land will cover our beloved children. The dust of this land will
cover religious and secular children, children from the kibbutzim, the Yesha
settlements, and others. The Holy One Blessed be He will gather all of them
with love.
I do not know why this tragedy occurred. I have no complaints
against the army, nor against the heads of state; so was the will of G-d,
and against Him too, I have no complaints.
I do not know why He needed
this sacrifice. I now only that these 73 martyrs revealed to us and to G-d,
that beyond all of the differences that stand between us, we are all the
children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are all one family, with one land,
and one destiny.
Shalom.
RABBI ZALMAN MELAMED
At such difficult times as that which we are undergoing today, as the entire
nation is literally steeped in shock and mourning, let us look to the words
of our Rabbis of blessed memory for guidance in dealing with adversity.
The
Talmud teaches us that the believer is bidden to understand that "He is the
Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a G-d of truth and
without iniquity."
We recite in our daily prayers, "You shall love the L-rd
your G-d with all your... essence" - me'odecha, in Hebrew. Our rabbis teach
that, among other meanings, this verse tells us that "in every measure that
G-d deals with us, whether for good or for bad, we must thank Him."
The
Talmud adds that whether we are thanking G-d for a blessing bestowed upon
us, or acknowledging a terrible misfortune that has befallen us, we must do
both with the same "complete heart."
This, of course, does not mean that we must suppress our natural instinct
that distinguishes between good and bad or our feelings of sorrow.
Rather,
it means that we must rise above that which befalls us, to accept it
whole-heartedly as the work of He Whose ways are just and ultimately good.
Another verse tells us that we praise G-d for everything, whether it comes
as an expression of His bountiful blessing or His strict judgment. Every
manifestation of G-ds providence towards us is worthy of our praise, with
the recognition that all that happens to us is Divinely guided with
exactitude precisely as it was meant to be.
"G-d gave, and G-d took. May G-d's Name be blessed."
