Remembering

April 21, 2009 - 9:12 PM by

Strange things can happen on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls today, April 21, and Israel’s Memorial Day, which falls next Tuesday. And they often happen during the YouTube Preview Image that is sounded at 10:00 am on both mornings as well as on the eve of Memorial Day. During those two minutes, everything stops, all action of all kind, wherever you may be. And whatever action doesn’t stop — cars on the road, bulldozers at building sites (which one friend of mine noticed today), people walking down the street — is more than noticeable.

MIDEAST ISRAEL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAYIn my earlier days in Israel, I would plan out where I was going to be at 10:00, in order to be in the busiest place I could think of and have the most extreme siren experience. That brought me to Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda open market, to busy streets, malls, and on one memorable experience, the side of the road on Highway One. The longer I’m here, the lazier I’ve gotten about my 10 am location, or rather, the busier I’ve been in life, and therefore have less time to think these things through. But no matter where I am, even if it’s by my desk in my home office, that two-minute siren never fails to raise goosebumps on my arms, and make me think about why the siren is sounded.

Today I was standing next to the washing machine, sorting darks and whites and spraying stain remover on my six-month-old twins’ clothing. Not a particularly moving location. But I stood still for the entire two minutes, and the goosebumps were there as usual. I also noticed in the silence of the siren that the neighborhood dogs were barking up a storm, which makes you wonder what they think about the siren. And not to be out-yelled, my twin boys also raised their voices, waking up from their morning nap to hear a sound they’re never heard before.

So we remembered the six million in our own way, me and my boys. And I’ll always be able to tell them that the first time they heard the siren, they couldn’t ignore it either.

Tags: , , , , • Category: General, History and Culture, Immigrant Moments, Israeliness 

Comments

2 Comments on Remembering

  1. Nicky on Wed, Apr 22nd 2009 1:26 PM

    2. When I went to pick up my three year old from kindergarten yesterday, the ganenit told me that in the wake of the siren he asked her so many questions – following her from place to place around the gan.

    Why do we have to stand still?
    Why are people sad?
    Do I have to be sad?
    Look I’m happy, not sad.
    Will people still be sad tomorrow?

    Awareness begins in Israel at a very young age.

  2. e. weisbord on Wed, Apr 22nd 2009 4:41 PM

    3. Whether you are sorting socks or thoughts, the goosebumps rise in all of us.

    While living in Tel Aviv some years ago, I was home alone and once the sirens went off I went to my balcony to stand only to find a man, who had been working on his car with the the hood up, stop what he was doing and stand the 2 minutes along with myself (I lived on a quiet street).

    This was my first year in Israel and my first very personal experience. There was an overwhelming sense of no matter where any of us where at the moment as individuals, we were collectively standing together.

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