On Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Memorial Day, the tone is solemn. A siren throughout Israel, calling for a moment of silence through the country, rings at 10:00am. We left class at 9:50am, and found the closest intersection as we waited for the siren. 10 am - the loud ringing begins, and for one full moment, all of the people and cars stop. Cars halt in the middle of the road, people get up out of their vehicles and stand in memory of everyone who died and lost anyone in the Holocaust. At 10:01 - life proceeds as normal. This was a holiday that I had been a part of for years - it was not foreign to me. But still, in the Israeli framework, I struggled to fully accept the Holiday, and celebrate (for lack of a better word) it as they do in Israel. I have a constant fear that I will become 100 percent Zionist and unable to see any other side. Shamefully, I have to admit that part of me was still even frustrated with Yom HaShoa. I keep blaming Israel for being unable to see through a lens that isn't racist against Arabs, isn't defensive against every piece of criticism, and yet I sat there and criticized the state itself for addressing only the Jewish issues. Inside, I wish when they had said, "we are here to make sure that genocide never happens again..." all I heard was, "We want to make sure that a JEWISH genocide never happens again..." I was frustrated because I knew that this cause would only forward the elimination of antisemitism, but not anti-hate. I had to struggle to realize that it doesn't matter what agenda people have when promoting a cause or an event, because the 6 million that died deserve this day, deserve to remembered, and what am I, a 3 and a half generation American, with no family ties to the holocaust, to have an opinion on the matter?
Only about 8 days later does Israel find two "holidays" back to back. First is Yom Hazikaron, the day of remembrance for all of the soldiers and lives lost fighting for the country. 24 Hours later is Yom HaAtzma'ut, the craziest Independence Day of any country I've ever experienced. It's basically 48 hours of memorial day, only much more intense, and much more extreme, on both ends of the spectrum. On the day of remembrance, I almost felt inappropriate mourning. On Holocaust memorial day, I may have had my qualms, but I am Jewish. It was a Jewish holiday, and every year I feel it. Remembering the soldiers - I felt as though it almost wasn't my place to feel this way. I never served in the army. I do not live here. I do not know one person that has been hurt fighting. I'm quite lucky in that way. But still I thought that this is a moment, where again I feel pushed to be Israeli simply because I am Jewish, and in reality, they are not the same. An Israeli is not always an observant Jew, and a Jew does not always have to be Israeli. (I think too, that almost every political issue that this country runs into stems from this very issue of confusion as well). Israelis here was somewhat baffled by this: You don't need to be Israeli to mourn, this is you! I couldn't explain the feeling.
On this day again, a siren goes off. For this ceremony, I went to Har Hertzl, where (most/ all?) soldiers in the IDF are buried. People from all over the country pile into this enormous cemetery, although on this day, you would never be able to notice it's size. The siren and ceremony here is unlike anything I've experienced. Similar to Yom HaShoa, the siren calls for solemn silence. Except at this point, I'm not standing near an intersection, and the silence does not seem out of place. Some of my rough footage below shows this this event. I wanted to capture it for two reasons. First, I needed to start shooting - something, anything. I knew this being at this place, on this day, would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Secondly, I did want to think about how I could implement some of this footage into the bigger picture. As I begin to develop my idea of analyzing the relationship between secular and religious jews in Israel- I wanted to think, as my friend Jason always says we should, with the end in mind. Seculars have this idea about what they've done for the country, and how the Haredi (ultra religious) are getting in the way - and the Haredi as well think they know how to run the country, and disagree often with how the seculars want to advance the country. On a day like this, however, when all types of people have fought and died, and both sides can finally agree on one thing - Israel for them - I think that this is one place where their differences can be put aside, and everyone can come together. The footage is very raw - and I didn't want to spend too much time editing, I really just wanted to give a good idea of the space. I'd love to hear outside thoughts.
Yom HaZikaron from Kady Buchanan on Vimeo.
At sundown that evening, everything changes. You go from mourning a loss, to the biggest and best outdoor party ever. It's fun and incredible and so easy to become so patriotic and nationalistic. So easy to get caught up in and think wow- this country is amazing - it is important - we need to keep this spirit alive. At the end of it all, however, as much as I love this country and know it needs to be kept alive, I kept thinking at how there's much work to be done. People in the past week are being literally thrown out of Gaza, extreme inequality not just between Israelis and Non Jewish Arabs, but between Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Arabs (in areas that are still governed by Israelis). I'm not sure if this makes me a bad Jew, an even worse Israeli, or just an extremist leftist. I think I force some of these feelings as part of a bigger effort to not to be completely entranced by the Zionist agenda - because it would be so easy.
Wow, this is great footage, Kady. It's all so complicated...I can't wait to see what you create.
ReplyDelete"Think from the end to the beginning"- I appropriated that from Claire Andrade-Watkins, so I can't take credit! : )