"Etched in Eternity" - The First National Commemoration Conference
Commemoration Event
The International Convention Center (Binyanei HaUma) in Jerusalem"We have the duty to preserve the memory of the fallen. Alongside the National Memorial Hall and state ceremonies, we will develop a national digital memory initiative – a digital hall of remembrance” (Aryeh Moalem)
The first national commemoration conference was the initiative of the Families, Commemoration and Heritage Department at the Ministry of Defense, a shared space of remembrance, connection and inspiration. The conference was held in the presence of President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Commissioner of the Israel Police Daniel Levy, Deputy Director General and Head of the Families Department Aryeh Moalem, Chair of the Public Council for Commemoration of Fallen Soldiers Prof. Salma Mor Yosef, Chairman of the Yad Labanim organization Eli Tahar, Chairwoman of the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization Zehava Gross Meydan, Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon and many other distinguished guests.
The conference dealt with the place of memory in the public life of the State of Israel and our responsibility to pass on the memory of the fallen from generation to generation. Various sessions were held as part of the conference in which participants discussed ways to preserve the figures of the fallen, the connection to our origins, and the commitment to remember and raise the memory of the fallen in everyday life.
Alongside the sessions, there were exhibits that suggested different ways to connect with memory: a memorial map that mapped the memorial sites across the country, a display of names that placed the names of all the fallen in an endless sequence, testimonies from families in the first person and without intermediaries, memorial songs chosen by the families themselves, and a space that presented the multitude of ways of commemoration - from literature and art to volunteer projects and community activities. The displays connected the official commemoration with the personal story, and illustrated how memory also exists in the digital space, on social networks, and in everyday actions.
A taste of the exhibits displayed during the conference
"For whenever I speak of him, I still remember him" (Jeremiah 31, 19)
Each name is a link in the chain of Israeli identity. The exhibition places the names of all the fallen defense and security forces of Israel on the walls of the space in an endless sequence, bringing visitors closer to the scope of loss and the lives that were cut short behind each name.
In the first person
In this exhibit, we place the voices of the families at the center - direct testimonies, without intermediaries, in which facial expressions and tone of voice reveal the personal story behind the loss, and weave it into the national memory.
