ANZAC Day

As dawn broke on the 25th of April 2013, the MSLPers headed off to a military cemetery located on Mt Scopus in Jerusalem, to commemorate Anzac Day. Upon arrival, we were greeted by an Australian man, Joe, who made Aliyah and now lives on a kibbutz in the Golan; as per usual, it was warming to hear the heavy Australian accent. Whilst sitting in the warm spring sun, Joe informed us of the role that the Australian and New Zealand soldiers played in both world wars and the significance of the particular cemetery we were in.

We joined a few other gap year programs for the duration of a ceremony in the cemetery, which consisted of the customary Anzac Day rituals. The ambassador of Australia to Israel spoke and many countries and organisations laid wreaths. The ceremony concluded with the Australian Anthem, a song we haven’t heard in a long time. 

Following the conclusion of the ceremony, we joined one of the Aviv groups and travelled with a JNF guide to a few significant sites. We started at the Prophet Samuel's grave, followed by a holy Mikva and quarry. 

Our tour was then continued in Tel Aviv at the park by Hayarkon River, where we ate lunch at a memorial donated by in memory of the victims of the bridge collapse in 1997. This was followed by a visit to a memorial wall with all the names of Australian families and associations, including Maccabi Australia, that donated money to the Hayarkon Park.

It's amazing for us 18 year old Australians to be able to get together on the other side of the world and commemorate such a meaningful and important day for Australia. And to have visited some of the sites and view projects run by JNF that Australians have contributed to. All in all, it was a very long but meaningful day.

Lest we forget.

Tamar