For those who gave their lives

Barbara Sofer spoke at the AACI Memorial Ceremony for Americans and Canadians who gave their lives for Israel.

Barbara Sofer
The Human Spirit/JPost
29 October '10

No part of our statehood was won without sacrifice. Remember our names forever, goes the song. We are here today to do that, to stop and pause in our busy lives, to remember, to weep and to rise to our feet in applause and appreciation. Mostly, we are aware of the sacrifice of all the Isaacs who walked the road, yahad with all of us to the dreaded altar. Lovers, spouses, siblings, friends, parents, grandparents, children, I stand humbly before you to honor our dead.

I remember a time when I was a camp counselor in Connecticut when a plane flew so low overhead that I became terrified that it was an enemy attack. Irrational, I know. No one had fought on Connecticut soil since the British blasted the coast in 1812, and yet I can remember the sound of the plane today and the fear. I was 15. The lake was full of little kids. It was for me a moment like Holden Caulfield’s in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, a realization that there was no way to protect them. As an Israeli, I’ve often had that feeling. Everyone we love – afraid. A spouse, a sister, a child is vulnerable. Here in Israel, as the late Steve Averbach used to say, “we’re all moving targets.”

When I was honored to be asked to speak at the memorial ceremony for the more than 300 whose names are listed on the Memorial Wall – North Americans, AACI associate members and their families who have fallen in service to the State of Israel or as terror victims – I couldn’t have imagined that Steve, who died on June 3, would be among those we stand here today to salute. In the seven years since Steve was mortally injured in a bombing, he overcame many health crises. Afterward he would be back, flashing his irresistible Cheshire cat smile, as he inspired a student group or raised funds to assist other victims of terror.

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