YU Celebrates and Commemorates Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha'atzmaut

On April 28th ,  over 1000 students gathered at Lamport Auditorium to take part in a bittersweet assembly that marked the transition from Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day), to Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). A sea of blue and white looked on as former members of the Israeli Defense Force and Sheirut Leumi lit candles to commemorate those who perished on the Israeli battlefield and at the hands of terror. The Maccabeats, the Yeshiva University a cappella group, gave an inspired performance, singing both somber and hopeful tunes appropriate for the occasion.

After the recitation of Kel Maleh Rachamim and Tehillim, the crowd heard from the keynote speaker, Yaakov Katz. A military correspondent and defense analyst for The Jerusalem Post, Katz discussed the strategic role of Israel in the Middle Eastern military sphere.

Following divrei Torah v’chizzuk by Rav Meir Goldwicht, the students capped off the night with a spirited chagiga at the Max Stern Athletic Center Gymnasium. Yossi Piamenta and his band played for the crowd with lively Jewish music while students ate Israeli-style food.

By the next day, Yom Haatzmaut was in full swing, and a festive atmosphere spread throughout Wilf Campus. Tenzer Gardens featured a barbeque, various games and live performances by the YU bands Tzavei, TaShma and Otzar.
However, YU campus soon received a jolt of reality amidst the idealism and euphoria of the day, as Noam Shalit, father of missing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who has been in Hamas captivity for almost three years, addressed a crowd of Yeshiva and MTA students, faculty and administration.

Shalit was in the United States lobbying the new Obama government to use its leverage and resources in the Middle East to help bring Gilad home.

“I fear daily for his life,” said Shalit. “In captivity there is no tomorrow, time is of the essence. This ordeal is like a continuous nightmare, a bad dream I can’t awaken from.”
In response to a question about how members of the Yeshiva community could help, Shalit encouraged the audience members to keep Gilad’s captivity on their minds and on their agenda and to keep their communities active and attentive to the situation.