Israel remembers its 22,867 fallen soldiers and 2,443 victims of terror attacks. A state memorial ceremony for the members of Jewish resistance movements was held Monday in the northern city of Akko, and attended by Minister of Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein and Opposition Chairwoman MK Tzipi Livni (Kadima).
During the ceremony, Livni addressed the comparison being made in the Arab world between members of the resistance movement – who led to the establishment of the State – and terrorists that fight against Israel nowadays.
"Those we are fighting against are terrorists and those we are mourning and celebrating their bravery were 'freedom fighters,'' she said.
"These are trying times for Israel – a state that is struggling against terrorism. Some try to deprive Israel from its right to defend itself by drawing an analogy between the war on terror and the terrorist, using the phrase 'one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist'," Livni added.
The opposition leader remembered her father, the late Eitan Livni, who was a senior Irgun member (Zionist paramilitary group that operated during the British mandate of Palestine), and was released during the Akko prison break.
"I wanted to come here today, on the Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day, because this is not only a national remembrance day, but also a personal one.
"Not only because dad sat in (Akko) prison, but also because of the struggle that was needed in order to transfer the responsibility to the Defense Ministry and officially recognize the memory of Olei Hagardom as part of Israel's official remembrance day," she said.
Livni added that "those who gave their souls are finally part of the family of Israel. We shall remember them and their heroic stories that taught us about values and encouraged us to continue singing Hatikvah."