A special ceremony was held Sunday to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. Officials and bereaved families gathered at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl to remember the victims of one of the nation's deadliest wars.

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"Something within us changed 48 years ago," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in his address. "The Yom Kippur War proved how dangerous complacency and arrogance can be. It taught us a lesson in humility, but also the importance of being prepared and organized.

"The heavy toll of the war was unbearable … But what many perceived as a failure, I see as a victory, for the difficult challenge of losing one's lofty status, but gaining victory nevertheless, both on the Syrian and Egyptian fronts, is remarkable."

Bennett also referred to the capture of the last two of the six Palestinian fugitives that occurred earlier in the day. "The escape itself reflected a serious intelligence, operational and systematic problem," he said, but praised how the forces mobilized and came together quickly to apprehend the escapees.

President Isaac Herzog also gave an address at the ceremony.

"The Yom Kippur war was a national event that taught us about inflexibility and arrogance. We must do our utmost so that a surprise like that does not happen again – we must always be prepared for war as well as never miss an opportunity for peace.

"Besides being vigilant, politically and security-wise, we must also learn the lessons on an internal level, within Israel, of unity and national resilience. We must stand up to polarization and rifts in Israeli society. To unite, come together, make connections and prevents division – that is the best and only way to deal with internal and external threats."

Addressing the bereaved families, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: "Every day you remember their last sentences, etched in your heart, the hug, the last meeting. We must remember the fallen, and remind ourselves that the responsibility to make sure their deaths were not in vain rests on us."

"We owe the fallen our existence today, in a prosperous and strong country. It has been 48 years, but the pain continues and we miss them no less. These were Israelis from across the country who came together on the holy day to stand up to the enemy. The victory came about, first and foremost, thanks to the commanders and the soldiers on the battlefield."

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Staff Sgt. Sean Carmeli, 21, from Texas; Staff Sgt. Max Steinberg, 24, from Los Angeles, and Staff Sgt. Jordan Ben-Simon, 22, from Lyon, France were killed within hours of each other on July 20, 2014.

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When the public learned that the three soldiers had no immediate family in Israel, messages went out on social media asking that members of the public show their support by attending their funerals. The response was overwhelming and touched the bereaved families as well as the nation as a whole. Tens of thousands of mourners attended the funerals in Haifa, Jerusalem, and Ashkelon.

Israel Hayom spoke to the families ahead of the fifth anniversary of their sons' deaths.

Steinberg's sister, Paige, said that at first, the family had been unsure whether to have him buried in Israel or in Los Angeles. After their parents flew to Israel, they decided that their son's resting place would be there.

"It was the first time my parents had ever been to Israel and [only] my second time," said Paige, who now lives in Tel Aviv.

"When we went to Mount Herzl, we saw people from all over. The streets were packed with people. We didn't understand what all the fuss was about until we realized that everyone was there for Max. We were overwhelmed with love and support," Paige said.

Paige said that in those moments, she felt "more understood here, next to the people of Israel. They said that Max would never be alone here and we believed them. There are no words to describe how moved I was, but in my heart, I felt that the only way to deal with the tragedy would be to follow Max and move to Israel."

Carmeli's parents, Dalia and Alon, Israelis who had been living in Texas for over 20 years, felt the same way as Paige Steinberg, and so did Yemin Philippe Ben-Simon, Jordan's father, who left France and made aliyah some two years after his son was killed, on Sept. 11, 2016.

"It was no coincidence I chose that date," Ben-Simon said.

"On Sept. 11 [2001], radical Islamic terrorists tried to threaten the citizens of the free world. I see a direct link between the radical Islamic terrorism that destroyed the Twin Towers in the US and the radical Islamic terrorism from the radical Hamas, which killed my son. Making aliyah on that date is a message to these radical terrorist groups: 'nothing will help you.'"

Joachim Hajaj, a volunteer with the group Ach Gadol [Big Brother], a nonprofit that supports and mentors lone IDF soldiers, accompanies the Ben-Simon family every time they attend a memorial service for Jordan. He also helped translate Israel Hayom's interview with Philippe Ben-Simon from French.

"I still can't believe that Jordan is gone," the bereaved father said.

"I decided to make aliyah because I wanted to be close to him. I do have relatives in Ashkelon, but the reason I decided to live there was simply because I wanted to be as close to Jordan as possible."

Yemin Ben-Simon found an apartment only a few minutes' walk away from the cemetery where his son is buried.

"There are periods when I visit Jordan's grave every day, and there are periods when I don't want to go," he said.

When Carmeli's parents, Alon and Dalia, decided to make aliyah, they were reunited in Israel with their two US-born daughters, who had made aliyah before their brother and were already living here.

"When we came for the funeral, I said I wasn't going back to the US. I told my husband, sell the businesses because I don't want to go back with you," Dalia said.

Most of the family's businesses were sold to the first interested buyer.

"We didn't care about the price. We had gotten to the point where the money wasn't important," Dalia said.

In her first two years back in Israel, she would spend about seven hours a day by Sean's grave, but she says that now, she understands that "Sean is with me everywhere, so I only go [to the cemetery] twice a week."

"We couldn't leave Sean alone in Israel," said Alon Carmeli.

"Sean's moving funeral also played a part in the decision. It's hard to put into words how touching it was to see crowds of people and fans of Maccabi Haifa who hadn't even known him come to pay their last respects and thank him for sacrificing his life for the sake of the country. We realized that in the US we would never receive the support we received and are still receiving here in Israel."

Five years after the young lone soldiers died, many Israelis continue to touch the families' hearts by paying visits to the graves of Sean, Max, and Jordan.

"A lot of people attend his memorial ceremonies, mostly fans and officials from the Maccabi Haifa soccer club, which Sean was a rabid fan of. I already know a lot of them, because they come back every year for memorial ceremonies. I know that Maccabi Haifa fans go there a lot before the team's games at the Sami Ofer Stadium, [which] is nearby. I know this from the candles and the team items that they leave on his grave. It's hard to explain how touching that is," Dalia said.

Paige Steinberg says she wants to "thank the people of Israel for keeping their promise to my family, not to forget Max and the rest of the soldiers. The love and support we are getting has given us strength since we lost Max. We are grateful."

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Sirens blared across the country at 11 a.m., bringing traffic on roads and highways throughout Israel to a halt as pedestrians stopped in place to bow their heads in silence.

A state ceremony for fallen soldiers at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem began immediately following the moment of silence, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin in attendance.

Speaking at the ceremony, Netanyahu vowed never to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons as Tehran announced that it was rolling back its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Netanyahu was scheduled to attend another ceremony later Wednesday afternoon in honor of victims of terrorist attacks.

Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism is a solemn day in Israel, with over 1.5 million Israelis were expected to pay their respects at the gravesides of those killed in wars or terror attacks throughout Israel's history in 52 official military cemeteries and hundreds of other smaller military sections in civilian cemeteries across the country.

At ceremonies on Tuesday evening, both Netanyahu and Rivlin told bereaved families that the sacrifice of Israel's fallen soldiers has allowed the Jewish people to live freely in their homeland and vowed to continue working to return the bodies of fallen soldiers still missing.

Memorial Day commemorations began Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. with another moment of silence ushering in the annual 24-hour period of mourning that will transition to patriotic celebration of Israel's 71st Independence Day on Wednesday evening.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.

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Last year during the Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism, some 1.5 million Israelis went to pay their respects at gravesides of those killed in wars or terror attacks throughout the country's history.

The Defense Ministry last week announced the addition of 96 names to the list of soldiers killed defending the Jewish state since 1860 as well as nine Israeli civilians killed in conflict-related violence in the same period, bringing the total to 3,146 terror victims.

The number has likely increased since last week's statement after four Israelis were killed by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip this weekend.

56 of the names added were IDF soldiers and police, while the other 40 were veterans who succumbed to disabilities or injuries sustained during their service.

Military service is compulsory for Israeli Jews and young conscripts make up two-thirds of the standing army.

Memorial Day is a solemn day in Israel, where grief is often openly expressed in public ceremonies. In a country where almost everyone has known someone who died fighting, most people are grieving for someone they knew personally.

There will be candlelight ceremonies in schools and public institutions and mournful programs about Israel's wars broadcast on public television.

Memorial Day will come to a close at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday, when Israelis will allow their sadness to give way to mirth as they celebrate Independence Day with patriotic parties and events happening throughout the country.

This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.

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