Remembering Israel's Soldiers
In the Diaspora

How can someone living outside of Israel best mark Israel's Memorial Day?

The majority of Jews around the world continue to look to the modern-day State of Israel with hope and pride, as they have done since the establishment of the State fifty-four years ago. Feeling their destiny to be inextricably bound with that of the Jewish State, they recognize the huge sacrifice made by those who lost their lives fighting for the State of Israel, and the price they and their families have paid so that Israel could flourish as a nation in its own right.

It says in the Talmud, "Kol Yehudim aruvim zeh leh zeh." "All Jews are responsible for one another." In this vein, those outside Israel feel that Israel's loss is their loss too.

Ways to mark the day outside of Israel include lighting memorial candles, giving tzedaka, or charity, or learning on behalf of the deceased. Some learn Torah in the memory of a particular soldier, study history (either of the Jewish state, or of Jewish history in general), or spend some time reflecting upon how the sacrifices of Israel's soldiers affect them and the direction their own lives are taking.