The Memorial Day ceremonies for Israeli soldiers killed in wars since the establishment of the state opened Sunday night at 8 P.M. with a one-minute siren.
President Moshe Katsav opened the state ceremony at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem. Chief of Staff Major General Moshe Ya'alon followed by addressing the bereaved families.
"We hoped that we would not add more names to the list of fallen," Katsav said in his speech, "but to our regret, it was another year of pain and of blood in the streets, another year of sorrow and grief, a year in which the awareness grew within us that we are fighting to defend the lives of citizens of Israel and for the security of the state."
From November 29, 1947, to April 4, 2004, the number of fallen soldiers is 20,196. From last Memorial Day to April 19, 184 soldiers have been killed. From the time the first Jewish settlers left the walls of Jerusalem in 1860 and started building Jewish quarters, to April 19, the number of fallen soldiers is 21,781.
