On Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror) this year, as the number of fallen fighters continues to rise from the ongoing Swords of Iron War, Israel is plunged into a state of national mourning.

Marc Belzberg, founder and chairman of OneFamily, the national organization dedicated to supporting victims of terror and their families, reflected: “Last year's Yom Hazikaron was unlike any we have known. And this year, even more so, nearly every Israeli—and countless Jews around the world—has a deep connection to someone lost to war and terror. We are all carrying a fragment of the grief that bereaved families endure daily.” 

On the weekend before Yom Hazikaron, OneFamily hosted an annual three-day retreat at the Kinneret, offering 400 bereaved parents of fallen soldiers and victims of terror rest, support, practical tools and a charge of positive energy. 

Throughout the retreat, families engaged in a variety of healing activities and, perhaps most importantly, found critical social support and emotional connection with others who share the same burden.

As one participant commented after prayers, lectures and discussions: “Everyone in this room lost a son or daughter fighting for this country. All 400 people. Every one of them has to face Yom Hazikaron honoring those who have fallen while protecting us.” 

The retreat captured the true picture of mourning across Israeli society that would be mirrored at ceremonies nationwide. The bereaved parents, young and old, represented diverse backgrounds, from all corners of Israel, from every level of religious observance to a variety of cultural origins—Indian, Ethiopian, Russian, French, American, Sephardi and Ashkenazi. They came from the political left and right, from the north and south, from small towns and big cities. 

They all carried the weight, the hole, the sadness of loss.  For some, this was their first Yom Hazikaron without their child.  For others, it has been years since their loss. Many return to the annual retreat, not only to receive support but also to offer it, paying it forward as part of their ongoing healing process. 

For many, the pre-Memorial Day retreat is not merely a tradition but a necessity. “There aren’t the daily distractions from the grief on Yom Hazikaron," explained one parent. "We brace ourselves for the day all week. Getting away for the Shabbat before, with others going through it as well, makes all the difference.” 

Yaron and Ayelet Fisher from the small community of Bruchin in Samaria are grieving the loss of their son Nevo, who was killed on Jan. 8, 2025. A tank commander in the IDF's 46th Armored Battalion, Staff Sgt. Nevo Fisher was killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip at the age of 20.

“Every day is Memorial Day for us,” said Yaron. “We are in this all the time. Yom Hazikaron is the one day of the year that everyone else stops and is with us. We welcome it. We get to share our son’s story and mourn him as a community.” 

Lisa Weinsof Zenilman of Ma'ale Adumim lost her son Ari on the third day of Chanukah, Dec. 10, 2023. Master Sgt. Ari Zenilman was killed while fighting in Khan Yunis, just a month before his 33rd birthday. The oldest of five children, Ari left behind his wife, Chava, and three young children, Achiya, Tali, and Maayan. 

Ari attended the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva and served as a combat soldier in the Nachal Brigade. After completing his regular service, he continued to serve in a reserve unit, firmly believing that "his turn" had not ended.

In a letter to a young friend preparing for army service, he wrote: “Remember to look at the big picture…. You may feel like a cog in a machine and that machine may have its faults, but oh, what a machine it is. It is important that every soldier understand that it is his time and his turn.” 

In early December, Ari’s unit was deployed to communities along the Gaza border—Kissufim, Kibbutz Re’im, Kfar Aza and later Nachal Oz. On Dec. 3, he called his parents and wife to let them know he was handing in his cellphone—an unspoken signal that he was entering Gaza. It was the last time they heard his voice. 

“Losing Ari left a huge hole in all of our lives,” his mother shared. “It's a hole that will never be filled. But it's not a hole that stays the same forever. It's a little less than a year and a half now and I see the hole changing. Not shrinking or filling up, but changing.” 

Lisa described how being around others facing similar grief has helped her move forward:  “It has been helpful to spend time with peers who are going through very similar experiences and sharing thoughts. Time goes on and we also move on—still broken but not like in the beginning. Learning to hold the pieces together and keep moving forward.” 

She added, “We're heading into our second Yom Hazikaron. The day is a very powerful experience. It’s the one day a year that we mourn our son, the soldier, rather than our son Ari.” 

Marcy Oster, a resident of Karnei Shomron in Samaria, lost her son, Sgt. First Class (res.) Amichai Oster, 24, in Gaza on Jan. 1, 2024. 

“This will be my second Yom Hazikaron as a bereaved parent, and it is the second time I have joined a OneFamily weekend for bereaved parents,” she shared. “Last year it was still pretty new, and I really benefited from talking to parents whose children were killed in previous wars—the ones who told us that the loss would hurt forever but that we would learn to feel happy again.” 

“It's been a year and four months since our son Amichai fell in Gaza and it still feels very fresh. I was so sad to see so many new parents who have only the perspective of a few weeks or months," she added. "I wish there was something I could have said to them to take away what I know they are going through. But I think just being together and talking about our children and how we are dealing with our lives since that knock on the door is helpful.” 

OneFamily has been supporting victims of terror and war for 23 years, offering year-round programming through four regional centers, a vast network of staff and volunteers, small support groups, camps and programs tailored to every age and stage of life, as well as hosting key retreats throughout the year.

OneFamily’s annual Yom Hazikaron ceremony was scheduled to be held on the evening of April 29 in Jerusalem and can be viewed from 7.30 p.m. in Israel via live stream at https://onefamilyfundus.org/yom-hazikaron-2025/. 

Hungarian Minister of State for Security Policy Péter Sztáray said on Monday that his country often stood alone in defending Israel in international fora, noting also Hungary's "zero tolerance" for antisemitism.

Speaking at the inaugural JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem, Sztáray said, "Hungary, often alone, stands up in the United Nations and European Union against statements and initiatives to blame Israel."

He cited several examples, including the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

"Arms embargoes have been introduced. Legal proceedings have been launched. The International Criminal Court has cast aside its impartiality, and any rational legal arguments, in order to persecute Israel. So it is no coincidence that Hungary has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court," he said.

Hungary announced its decision to withdraw from the ICC the same day in early April that the country's prime minister, Viktor Orbán, hosted Netanyahu in Hungary in defiance of the court.

Sztáray also spoke of his country's fight against antisemitism, "an old phenomenon on a new rise in Western Europe." He noted that Hungary had prohibited pro-Palestinian protests after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack because it saw how in other countries they morphed into "anti-Israeli and antisemitic outbursts."

He noted that a brief period of sympathy following the Oct. 7 attack evaporated as the world turned on Israel, "relativizing and even justifying" the Hamas invasion, the Hezbollah rockets and the missiles from Iran and Yemen.

"Hungary has firmly resisted this wave of double standards and hypocrisy," he said. "Hungary will stand with Israel even when the world starts to turn on you again."

"A safe and stable Israel is vital, not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world," Sztáray added. "Israel's security and sovereignty must be guaranteed at all costs, and you can count on the government of Hungary to remain your ally in this effort in the future as well."

Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar announced on Monday that he will step down on June 15, citing personal responsibility for the agency’s failure to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

"After years on many fronts, in one night on the southern front, the sky fell. All systems collapsed. The Shin Bet also failed to provide early warning," Bar said during a memorial for fallen Shin Bet personnel. "As the head of the organization, I took the responsibility."

The Oct. 7 massacre left approximately 1,200 people dead and saw 251 hostages taken into Gaza. Israeli officials have described the attack as the greatest intelligence failure in the country’s history.

Bar’s resignation comes amid broader criticism of Israel’s pre-Oct. 7 strategic assumptions vis a vis Hamas. As JNS has reported, these flawed assessments contributed significantly to Israel’s unpreparedness for the assault.

Appointed in 2021, Bar served nearly three decades in the Shin Bet, including in senior counterterrorism roles. In recent months, under his leadership, the agency has been heavily involved in dismantling Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

The government is expected to begin the process of appointing Bar’s successor immediately, as Israel faces evolving security threats across multiple fronts.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked Bar for his decades of service, calling his decision “a responsible step” and urging the establishment of a broad state inquiry into the failures that led to Oct. 7. He stressed that the Shin Bet must remain above politics and praised its agents for risking their lives to protect the country. As Memorial Day approaches, Herzog said he stands with all Shin Bet personnel and prays for their success and safety.

In medicine, there’s a diagnosis known as conversion disorder in which a psychological conflict manifests itself as a physical symptom. That, in a nutshell, is what afflicts the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), whose moral dysfunction is so deeply rooted that it now presents as bureaucratic incompetence.

IFMSA recently acknowledged that its suspension on Aug. 6, 2024, of the Federation of Israeli Medical Students (FIMS) was not grounded in legitimate rationale but in procedural irregularities. Translation: They botched the paperwork. What they haven’t admitted and likely never will is that this so-called “suspension” was an attempted ideological amputation. And it wasn’t sterile.

Let’s not kid ourselves: FIMS was not excised from IFMSA over any clerical confusion. It was removed like a problematic organ because FIMS president Miri Shvimmer challenged the systemic anti-Israel infection festering within the global medical community.

Her sin? Reminding fellow future physicians that medical ethics should transcend politics. Shvimmer had the audacity to suggest that the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, might warrant a condemnation from those studying to enter the medical profession.

Instead of receiving empathy or even neutral collegiality, she and her organization were diagnosed as the problem. Accused of “genocide,” they were ignored and silenced. It was akin to a digital lobotomy, performed not with scalpels but Zoom mutes and procedural anesthesia. And after the World Medical Association applied pressure like a defibrillator to the heart of this scandal, IFMSA sheepishly reinstated FIMS—not out of repentance, not because the fever broke, but because it had violated its own code of conduct.

In medical terms, the disease was not treated; it merely retreated under duress. But here is what is most clinically disturbing: There was no apology. No retraction. No penance. No gracious walkback. Not even a placebo statement to soothe the reputational hemorrhage inflicted on Israeli medical students. Instead, IFMSA tried to suture the wound with silence, hoping the scar tissue of injustice would simply fade.

This isn’t just bad medicine; it’s malpractice. IFMSA took an oath, as all medical institutions implicitly do: to protect life, uphold human dignity and treat all patients (and peers) with impartial care.

What we saw instead was ideological triage—treat the causes they approve of and ignore the ones they don’t. This isn’t about “procedural missteps.” It’s about metastatic antisemitism hiding behind the white coat of international cooperation. It’s about a global organization failing to live up to the very ethics it pretends to teach. It is, in short, a chronic case of moral arrhythmia.

If the IFMSA wants to regain its ethical pulse, it must do more than quietly reinstate FIMS. It must issue a full, public apology. It must disinfect its own ranks of political bias. And it must remember that the Hippocratic Oath is not a fig leaf for cowardice but a binding moral code.

Because in the end, silence in the face of this discrimination is not just complicity, it’s criminal malpractice.

A rare 1,500 year-old stone capital decorated with a menorah, that was discovered just outside of Jerusalem, will go on display this week ahead of Independence Day, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday.

The limestone capital, which is decorated with an eight-branched menorah, was unearthed five years ago during the construction of a new bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem in the bedroom community of Motza, the state-run archaeological body said.

Israeli researchers believe the capital stood atop a pillar in a Roman-period building or street.

 “The stone capital from the Jerusalem hills, decorated with the eight-branched menorah design, is unique, and a rare kind of discovery,” said Yuval Baruch, deputy director of archaeology at the IAA.

He noted that a few decades after the Second Temple’s destruction, the menorah became the distinct symbol of the Jewish people, both in the Diaspora and in the Land of Israel.

However, historical texts supported by archaeological research indicate that the Jewish settlement in Judea—and especially in the Jerusalem hills, suffered greatly as a result of the failed Bar Kokhba revolt in the 2nd century C.E., to the point of being considered eliminated.

“Based on this reality, it is reasonable to surmise that this capital [stone] was brought from a destroyed site elsewhere merely to serve as useful building material here,” said Baruch.

The one-of-a-kind stone will be displayed at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel.

“There is no more appropriate time to reveal this find to the public than in these very days of celebrating our identity as a nation,” said IAA Director Eli Escusido. The connection to roots and to values is the source of our strength.”

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir concluded his visit to the United States on Monday with a meeting on Capitol Hill with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.).

According to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority's official X account, Mast met with Ben-Gvir to discuss America’s shared national security interests with Israel. A photograph posted to social media showed Ben-Gvir presenting Mast with a replica menorah bearing the inscription: "On behalf of the State of Israel with compliments, Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of National Security."

In response, Ben Gvir wrote: "It was an honor to meet with you—looking forward to continuing our work together for the benefit of both our countries!" accompanied by Israeli and American flag emojis.

On Monday, Ben-Gvir also met with Republican Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, Claudia Tenney of New York, and Mike Lawler of New York. During his visit to the congressional offices, he was encountered by a group of pro-Palestinian activists, according to Israeli journalist Amit Segal.

The meetings marked the final stop of Ben-Gvir’s American tour. He is expected to return to Israel on Tuesday night.

Ben-Gvir also met last week with senior GOP officials at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota. His trip also included a solidarity visit to the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, where he was confronted by a fringe anti-Zionist protest group.

In New Haven, Conn., near Yale University's campus, Ben-Gvir faced demonstrations but remained defiant, declaring, “We will win,” while emphasizing Israel’s right to defend itself.

Despite opposition from radical groups, Ben-Gvir's U.S. meetings underscored the strong ties between Israeli leadership and key American allies.

Ahead of Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism), Israel's Ministry of Defense intensified its ongoing support for the nearly 3,000 bereaved family members living around the globe.

Both before and after the war that began with Hamas's mass murder attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel’s care for bereaved families extended far beyond its borders.

According to the ministry, as of April 28, 2025, approximately 3,000 bereaved family members lived abroad. Since the beginning of the conflict, 37 additional fallen soldiers had families residing overseas, each receiving personal, tailored support.

The ministry stated that "the number of fallen soldiers from Israel's wars from 1860 until today stands at 25,420," adding that the figure includes IDF and Israeli Police casualties.

It added that since Memorial Day last year, 319 fallen were added to the count, along with another 61 disabled veterans who died as a result of their disabilities and were recognized during the year as Israel’s fallen.

The Swords of Iron War led to 5,944 recently bereaved family members since October 7, 2023, and the past year saw 1,647 newly bereaved, including 487 bereaved parents, 85 widows, 163 orphans, and 912 bereaved siblings. The total number of bereaved families is 58,617.

Efrat Shefa Dor, director of the Tiberias District and head of the Overseas Families Division at the Department of Families, Commemoration and Heritage in the Israel Ministry of Defense, told JNS about the Ministry’s far-reaching commitment. 

The Tiberias District Families Division is one of six nationwide districts, while the Foreign Families Branch deals with all bereaved families living abroad.

"Today, there are close to three thousand bereaved family members living all over the world," said Shefa Dor. 

Out of the 37 fallen over the past year whose families or spouses live abroad, 18 of them were lone soldiers, she added.

"One of the unique aspects of the Department of Families, Commemoration and Heritage at the Ministry of Defense is the issue of initiative, and the spirit of the department's vision: a seeing eye, a listening ear, and an understanding heart."

 "We are in touch with the families no matter where they are, whether in Tiberias, Tel Aviv or Australia," she stated.

The support includes support services, commemoration ceremonies, and connection to communities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Two-thirds of the bereaved families living abroad are in the United States and the rest in Europe, Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere. 

On Memorial Day as well as on the personal commemoration days of each fallen, the ministry enables bereaved family members who wish to come to Israel to visit their loved ones' graves and participate in ceremonies to make the journey, she said. 

"For those unable to travel, we initiate contact with every bereaved family and stay involved in local events organized by embassies and consulates worldwide," she said.

The ministry establishes contact with each bereaved family abroad and verifies its needs. 

Since Oct. 7, Shefa Dor emphasized, the ministry recognized the need to step up its outreach for families living overseas via community and group initiatives, crucial both in Israel and abroad, and to strengthen bonds between bereaved families everywhere.

Among these initiatives are Zoom-based support groups. Shefa Dor said.

"We can say that since Oct. 7, two support groups of English-speaking bereaved parents have already been held via Zoom, and this is really how we connect between all the families," she said. "Not only in the United States, also in the Netherlands, where there was also a Hebrew-speaking family from Israel, there was a connection, there were two groups of 12 bereaved parents in each group."

One especially moving project emerged from a Zoom group, made up of bereaved siblings from the Swords of Iron War, which saw its artwork placed on exhibition in museums in Israel and Japan in the coming months. 

Beyond therapy, cultural initiatives also played a key role in strengthening identity and memory. "We have beautiful and emotional collaborations with the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization," Shefa Dor shared.

One project is called "Border-Crossing Connections," enabling bereaved family members to share their stories with Jewish schools around the world. In other initiatives, bereaved family members receive home visits from official organization representatives.

She said the Memorial Day event this year would feature bereaved widow Raaya Balhasan, widow of Maj. Eitan Balhasan, former commander of the Paratroopers’ Reconnaissance Unit, who was killed in action while fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon on Feb. 23, 1999, and Jacqueline Elharar, the grandmother of Sgt. Amitay Alon, who was killed by a Hezbollah drone strike on his military base near Binyamina on Oct. 13, 2024. 

"We all always, throughout the year and especially on these days, are there to embrace the bereaved families, with much love, appreciation, sensitivity, and a sense of statehood," said Shefa Dor. 

“New York is home to the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. It’s important to ensure their voice is represented in both state government and government as a whole," Anil R. Beephan Jr., state assemblyman for New York’s 105th District, told JNS on Monday. "To gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and heritage, it was important for me to come here."

Beephan emphasized the importance of solidarity in combating hate.

“It’s key for us to support each other, because if we don’t stand up for Jews, and vice versa, we never know who they might come for next," he said.

The only U.S. state legislator to attend the JNS International Policy Summit, Beephan has been working with the Jewish Federation in his district, in Dutchess County north of New York City, for the past year and a half to support the Jewish community following Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re seeing growing numbers of pro-Palestinian protesters throughout the state, and it’s leaking into the Hudson Valley, which I represent," he said. "Even our congressman, a Democrat, has had about 100 protesters outside his office."

Beephan, a Republican, expressed concern that many young people involved in these protests lack a full understanding of the conflict.

"I wish they could come here and see the reality for themselves. If they won’t, I’ll continue coming and sharing these stories," he said.

Reflecting on the summit panels, particularly those focused on U.S.-Israel relations, Beephan said they shifted his thinking on how to better communicate key messages.

"It’s about being more direct and making people understand the end goal," he said. "The main benefit of these panels is networking—meeting people from different groups, think tanks and local officials—which will help us tell the story back home."

Beephan, who has a passion for protecting victims of domestic violence, said the fight against anti-Zionism and anti-Israel rhetoric in state politics is ongoing and challenging.

"We are constantly pushing back against these radical-left ideas," he said. "Being in the minority, by votes alone, we would lose. But we have great resources—media on the ground, Jewish federations—helping us get the word out."

He credited the strong Chassidic community and Jewish legislators in the New York State Assembly with helping to block harmful legislation.

“They've been able to negotiate with the assembly speaker to kill those bills. But if the political balance shifts in the next election, we could see dangerous legislation come to a floor vote," he warned. "We must stay vigilant and keep our communities informed."

Beephan noted this was his second visit to Israel.

"I first came 13 years ago on a college trip. I walked the Old City of Jerusalem in the morning and visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem," he recalled. "I hope to visit Yad Vashem today or tomorrow."

Though he is not Jewish, Beephan said that he feels a deep connection to Israel.

"I’m Christian, raised in a Christian household, and I see our cultures and religions as tied together from day one," he said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday received the diplomatic credentials of the new ambassadors of Cambodia, Fiji, Micronesia and Nauru during a ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Welcoming the ambassador of Fiji, Fillipo Tarakinikini, Herzog expressed appreciation for the island nation's decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, calling it a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties.

In his meeting with Jackson T. Soram, the newly appointed ambassador of Micronesia, Herzog thanked the Pacific nation for its "deep friendship and steadfast support for Israel," highlighting its long record of backing for the Jewish state in international forums.

Speaking with the ambassador of Cambodia, Sok Chea, and the ambassador of Nauru, Lara Erab Daniel, Herzog emphasized his hope to deepen relations with both countries. He pointed to opportunities for expanding cooperation, particularly in cultural exchange and agricultural technology.

The ceremonies underscored Israel’s efforts to strengthen ties with countries across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.