Rav Shlomo Aviner, the rav of Beit El and a leading rabbi
from the national-religious camp, has issued a statement
suggesting the possibility of abolishing IDF Memorial Day
(that immediately precedes Independence Day, usually held on
4 Iyar) and saying the Yizkor prayer for fallen
soldiers on Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzma'ut) itself.
According to Rav Aviner there is no need to fix a day of
national mourning for the war dead, and individual mourning
is also questionable. In his opinion national mourning is
established only for golus and churban, while
"war casualties do not call for mourning. Mourning tears at
the heart and weakens it during time of war," says Rav
Aviner.
In his remarks Rav Aviner defines war as "a natural
phenomenon" and explains that it exacts a price. "It's like
a bridegroom who buys a nice apartment. The price was stiff
and now he is bemoaning all the money he had to pay. Did you
think it would be given to you for free? . . . Founding the
state takes its toll."
He further claims that the halochoh does not allow
for the establishment of a day of mourning for fallen
soldiers. "The halochoh states that Yizkor--in which
the names of the departed are mentioned, as on certain
holidays--must be said and that the prayer does not require
a day unto itself. The ideal situation would be not to have
a separate day for soldiers who fell in Israel's
battles."
In an interview with Ha'aretz Rav Aviner explains:
"What I wanted to say was that it [Independence Day] cannot
be allowed to convey messages of moaning and despair, but
should focus on messages of appreciation for those who fell
valiantly, devoted to the goal. Until recent times there was
no record of a day of mourning being established by Chazal
for soldiers who fell in wars in which we were victorious.
Days of mourning were established only when we lost a war. A
day of mourning was not established for those who fell
during the victorious campaigns of Yehoshua Bin Nun and the
Chashmonaim, because that was not the price. It is a hard
price to pay, but it should not weaken the hearts of
soldiers and of the people. The remembrance of those who
fell in victorious wars is through Yizkor, which
should really be said on Independence Day itself, and not on
a separate day of mourning set aside for them."
Rav Aviner can certainly not be accused of anti-Zionism, and
therefore his unusual remarks did not earn him bold
headlines and acrimonious articles for having struck out at
one of the symbolic vestiges of Zionism left in the State of
Israel. Still, the writer from Ha'aretz who
interviewed him could not refrain from asking, "People who
read your statements might think you would show more
sensitivity had you lost a relative of your own in war . . .
" The fact of the matter is that Rav Aviner has
talmidim and friends who were killed in war, but the
reporter interviewing him did not consider this to be enough
to fully entitle him to express his opinion on the
institution of Memorial Day.
