Invitation to bereaved families for involvement in the Yom Hazikaron Commemoration 2011

On Yom Hazikaron we honour the memory of the men and women who have given their lives for the creation and continued security of the State of Israel. 

Melbourne’s annual Yom Hazikaron Communal Commemoration is the time our community collectively grieves and pays tribute to Israel’s Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror and can offer some solace to bereaved families and friends of the fallen.
This year’s Yom Hazikaron Communal Commemoration will take place on Sunday 8th May 2011 at 7.30 pm (doors open at 6.45 pm) at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University Clayton Campus.

At the Yom Hazikaron Commemoration last year Mr Sam Stiglec lit a candle for his comrade and friend Yonni Wodak z”l who fell on the 9th of October 1973 in the Yom Kippur War in the battle of Kuneitra. The biography of Yonni Wodak z”l was presented and with that excerpts from his eulogy in which his father had written “I heard from your friends how you entertained them during the first nights of war. You told jokes and did mimics to help them stay awake. You kept up their morale. You stopped the invaders and the outposts did not fall. And the people of Israel continue to live”.

The Melbourne Yom Hazikaron Communal Commemoration gives an opportunity for bereaved families and friends to highlight the story and bravery of a fallen loved one and at the same time bring the whole community together in a show of solidarity to collectively commemorate and pay tribute to our fallen heroes. May their memories be forever blessed.

The Yom Hazikaron Commemoration is organized by a committee of communal co-hosts: Am Echad; AUJS; Caulfield Hebrew Congregation; Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Victoria (COSV); Friends of Beit Halochem (Vic), Hagshama; Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), JNF Victoria; Magen David Adom Victoria; UIA Victoria, National Council of Jewish Women Australia (Vic), Progressive Judaism Victoria (PJV); WIZO Victoria and Zionist Youth Council of Victoria, under the auspices and coordination of the Zionist Council of Victoria.

It encompasses youth and adults, and represents the spectrum of our Zionist community. It reflects the fact that in the grief of Yom Hazikaron, we stand strong in unity and solidarity.

A most important aspect of the Yom Hazikaron Commemoration is direct involvement by community members who have lost a family member or friend in one of Israel’s wars or terrorist attacks. The sensitivity involved in this occasion means that participation in the ceremony will of course depend entirely on the family and may include the lighting of a candle which is accompanied by the reading of a biography of the fallen, a photo in the program which every attendee receives and organized seating in the hall.

In order to include as many bereaved families and friends as possible, the co-hosting organizations invite you to contact Keren Smolarski at the Zionist Council of Victoria with information about the fallen family member or friend, at keren@zionismvictoria.org.au or call 03-9272 5544.

If you know of someone who has lost a member of their family or friend please forward them this message so that they too can be involved.
 
For more information contact:
Keren Smolarski – Yom Hazikaron Co-ordinator, Zionist Council of Victoria 03-9272 5544

The Zionist Council of Victoria leads and encourages Jewish and Zionist activity and expression within Victoria, to represent the Jewish community, to promote and communicate Israel’s interests within the broader Victorian community and to promote Victoria’s relationship with Israel. For more information, visit the Zionist Council of Victoria website www.zionismvictoria.org.au