Memorial Day 2017
Issue date April 4, 2017
The letter card, cover and stamp – all of which are special and unique to Memorial Day – constitute the basis of a sensitive, original and extraordinary tradition that came into being following the War of Independence.
Since Memorial Day 1952, a long line of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Defense have signed personal letters to bereaved families of the fallen and Israel’s premier artists take part in designing the covers and stamps for this commemorative day. Thus, from year to year, an unprecedented tradition has formed which, over time, has become one of the most recognized and extraordinary ambassadors of Israel’s commemorative culture.
(From: “Dear Families” published by the Ministry of Defense, on the occasion of Israel’s 50th Anniversary)
The graphic design of the Memorial Day stamps has been expressed over the years symbolically and through monuments.
The National Memorial Hall
at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem
Dedication and sacrifice in defense of the State of Israel take an invaluable toll, which is the silver platter on which our independence and sovereignty were achieved.
On the eve of Memorial Day 2010, the government of Israel approved the establishment of a National Memorial Hall on the grounds of the military cemetery at Mount Herzl to commemorate Israel’s fallen soldiers (government meeting no. 147).
For the first time since the establishment of the State, the names of all of Israel’s fallen, who gave their lives to defend Israel at home and abroad, will be united in one place.
The Memorial Hall’s location at Mount Herzl – the pantheon of Israeli heroism, constitutes a continuation of the Zionist vision of revival and realization.
The torch-shaped Memorial Hall will be 18 meters high and feature a perpetual flame. The name and date of death for each of the fallen will appear on a plaque beside a memorial candle that will be lit on that date each year. A military cantor shall perform a memorial service every morning for soldiers who fell on that date.
The memorial plaques will be made out of tank steel and produced at the Merkava tank factory. Bereaved families, heads of state and the general public will be able to come to the Memorial Hall every day throughout the year.
National ceremonies will be conducted in the Memorial Hall center, including memorial wreaths marking the nation’s solidarity and appreciation of its fallen warriors.
The team planning the commemorative site includes Kimmel Eshkolot Architects in collaboration with Kalush Chechik Architects and curator Dr. Orit Shaham-Gover.
The project is managed by the Ministry of Defense’s Families and Commemoration Department, in collaboration with a steering committee of public figures and representatives of the bereaved families, commemoration experts and former IDF commanders.
A cornerstone laying ceremony for the Memorial Hall building was conducted on April 30, 2014, the eve of the Hebrew month of Eyar (“the month of heroism”). Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
Based on the Ministry of Defense Families and Commemoration Department website.
Images of the National Memorial Hall on the stamp and FDC — courtesy of Kimmel Eshkolot Architects.
