Story:Remembrance/Independence Day. Israel May 2025

This year, over an year and a half since the murderous events of Oct 7th, without all hostages, yet back and while the best and bravest soldiers have kept falling and maimed, the Traumatized Nation had no appetite for any national festivities.

The personal pain, grief, bereavement and despair, have run most Israelis onto the edge.

False alarm sparked panic at TLV Memorial Day event, (Eve 4/30) at Habima Square

David, my older daughter Keren, who is now at age 45 pregnant for the first time

(at her 5th month), and I, were at the square's ceremony that evening, when panic briefly erupted within the space, which for security reasons, was very well fenced off and police guarded.

By sheer coincidence, after standing up for the traditional siren sounding, in memory of the fallen in battle and terrorist acts, throughout the generations, I got a bit dizzy,

Thus instead of staying, until the event was completely over, Keren and I slowly and peacefully made our way out, throughout the about 2000 participants, who attended the square

When for unknown reason, at the time, the panic was ignited, a crowd "tsunami wave" galloped toward our direction, out of the barricaded space, pushing down and trampling the fences around, and the

escaping crowd.

Suddenly we were engulfed and swirled by amok stricken mob, forcefully being dragged in joining the escape escaped.

Although I was holding onto Keren's arm, and rushing her forward to escape, at one point, we got detached and separated from each other.

I was pushed forward. as she was dragged back, and tripped over, by the trumping mass, losing also one shoe .

For a brief moment, which seemed an eternity, I lost sight of her but then saw that 2 men helped her up back to her feet, United again we rushed away from the square and into the safety of our nearby apartment.

Luckily, Keren didn't have a bad fall nor her belly touched the ground so both her and the fetus were not harmed.

however that ordeal was a hell of a scary experience.

Also David manged to escape the panicked crowd and even got to the apartment before us. , When still no one knew what caused the panic, many frighten young people on the run, pleaded with us to come over to our place, in fear that terrorists had triggered the eruption.

Later in the evening Police clarified that what had triggered alarm among attendees and the chaos invoked during Yom Hazikaron ceremony, was caused by misidentification of event's staff, and not due to any security threats.

Yet people were running frantically, chairs overturned on the ground, some were lying on the floor. and about 20 people were injured by the panic invoked incident.

When it became clear that no terrorist event occurred, David went down back to the square to search for Keren's missing shoe, left behind.

A pile of deserted shoes, keys, phones, glasses  begs and water battles, covered the entire square (see attached photos) and scarily brought up memories if another era...

The city reported that it placed the left behind remaining items on some square's benches for people to retrieve them.

The incident is a stark reminder of the tensions often surrounding large gatherings in the country. Traumatized Israelis are on the edge, and have been hyper sensitized with all that has occurred since Oct 7th.. Any small trigger imminently ignites an overreaction.

Another, yet despicable incident reported, on the same evening stated: Violent Protest Erupted Outside Ra’anana reform movement Synagogue, The civil war incident was ignited by right wing rioters, during memorial event which was promoting Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation

And as if that was not enough human embers sparks brewing an apocalyptic hellhole, the next day, on Israel's 77th birthday larger then ever Wildfires fanned by strong winds and dry weather, scorched an estimated 20sq. kms of forested/park land, disrupting Israeli Independence Day celebrations.

142 firefighters teams and 10 aircraft, from initially Cyprus and Italy were deployed in the Jerusalem Hills area then joined also by crews and planes from Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Romania, Spain and Ukraine.

The spreading of the wildfires caused forced evacuation of many communities, and as flames trapped drivers, many cars were abandoned. More than 100 vehicles were towed from Highway 1 the main traffic artery connecting Jerusalem with TLV , Trains too were halted while battles against the out-of-control wildfire lasted all that day and night.

Apparently more then shortage in adequate equipment or in men power, this nature disaster, also on Netanyahu watch, got out of control, due to inept management, lack of preemptive preparation despite per-warnings, and bad decision making.

That early morning and prior to any warnings, David took our 9 years old grandson,to the special Remembrance/Independence Day Ceremony of the Military Armed Corpses, Center

(Chiel Shyrion) situated at Latrun on the way to Jerusalem,

David who was a Tank Commander, during 1973 Yom Kippur War, wanted to familiarized the kid to the tanks, on display at this site.

(Similar Ceremonies are taking place also in all other Israeli specialized forced on such occasion)

Well.. that site was right in the midst of where the wild fires got out of control.

Thus In the middle of the ceremony, the several hundreds participants were notified by the organizers that they had to immediately evacuate the premise, per the Fire fighter force's directives, as the fires got really closer

Though there was also a large crowd in this ceremonial event, the participants didn't panicked by a real threat. They left orderly. to the parking lot and into their cars. Luckily David's car was close to the parking lot's exit, so he was among the firsts to drive away.

Still huge traffic congestion was created, from the ceremony's location and all the way to the entrance into HWY 1 going North toward TLV, which later was entirely closed.

To circumvent the piling up traffic, David cleverly decided to merge onto the HWY 1 route South, toward Jerusalem instead, And then later at the first occasion U turned and merged back North toward TLV , which helped his escape, and saved hours of held up, in traffic jams...

So our own family had enough "excitement" for one holiday, that was already fused and tainted, by the very somber and painful reality of:

+ the kidnapped, still not yet back home and no projection of when will they.. if ever..

+the thousands of bereaved, displaced, injured and traumatized without any expiration respite date.

+*the inept war mongering Gov, which just resumed another round of war in Gaza while continuing battles on 8 fronts, including one against its own citizens.

+the Gov insane insistence on legalizing army service exemption, and incentivizing the Ultra Orthodox Refusniks , thus promoting social inequality and societal rifts.

+the Gov acceleration of the Judiciary Revolution legislation which curtails Democracy

+the Gov refusal to approve a National Inquiry Committee, thus continue jeopardizing the personal and national Security of the protesters and all citizens at large.

How symbolic that the blaze of the ignited wildfires on Israel's 77th birth date has actually camouflaged the overall out of control man-made political destructive chaos.

A tsunami plagues of biblical measure, has afflicted the nation,

However the agitation has been manufactured, by an inept wicked Gov. and its home grown blue & white "Pharaoh" prime-head, whose wife on one of a captured audiotape declared :

" So the State Can Burn"...

while his idler good for nothing son

has been orchestrating a "Poisonous Machine Propaganda" against Israeli citizens, daring to criticize, this mafia like operating regime, devoid of minimal civil management and executive capacities.

Most of the main national misconceptions, major screw up and lethal bungles of the past 25 years,

(The 2010 Carmel Fires, the 2021 Mt. Meron Deadly Crowd Crush and the

Oct 7th 2025 massacres) happened on Netanyahu's time watch and are tagged to his name. Although.as a typical

"Teflon Manager" he habitually has white-washed himself, skillfully avoid blame, accountability, or challenging tasks, with nothing "sticking" to him, while assigning and blaming any other Public Service heads, and his opponents

who have criticized him and flesh him out.

And though most Israeli Security Experts have warned that he has been a "threat to Israel's National Security" Bibi will not give up power.

Furthermore, despite all the statistical poles, which steadily have confirmed his major loss of national legitimacy, and despite the fierce opposition to the continued war, threats to the time borrowed lives of the kidnapped, to the antidemocratic legislation, and other disastrous national decisions, especially those made since Oct 7th, this criminal "Pharaoh" who is up to his neck, in court cases against him, wouldn't let go of his grip on the country.

For the sake of his own personal escape from indictment he wouldn't agree to liberate the nation off his and His Gov's predatory claws, while being bent on taking down or literary "burn", the entire country,

Yet still, the sane patriotic Israelis have not been willing to abdicated their beloved country for whom they fought, had constructed and have made it prosperous,

They refuse to let a cult of brainwashed and brainless Bibists, Messianic Kahanists, religious extremists, mutching loafers, and plane criminals, who all have congregated and found a refuge heaven within the corrupt Right Wing major Likud party. to further turn the country into a fascistic directorship and run it down the drain,

The sane one, though bereaved, exhausted and traumatized have put a feisty but non-violent fight, filling up the streets and squares of all Israeli cities, week after week in protests and demonstrations, not loosing hope to bring back change, a safer brighter future to the country entire.

And despite of all that has been happening, nature seems to be oblivious to these major historical events, never letting down the hope of seasonal bloom and rejuvenation.

And may the turned-on light, after a dark horror movie, sometimes screened in theaters like the one photoed of this TLV Cimimateque, dispel the nightmare of the plagues afflicted on Israel, so the kidnapped are back ,and the country can move on, heal and strive to be a light onto the nations, once again.

THE END