Closing comments on Yom HaZikaron

I received this sticker, and as I write, it is still on my shirt.  It says "Yom HaZikaron - Israel remembers".  The siren went off at 1900 last night for one minute.  I went down to the busy intersection near my apartment just to see.  Except for two cars (which may have been Arabs), everything did stop and people stood.  Luckily, there was no ambulance enroute to the nearby hospital.  And then, just as quick as it began, people resumed their lives.

This morning, I observed the two-minute siren at 1100 from my campus at BGU, which is across from a busy hotel, having significant renovations to its sidewalks and drives.  When the siren sounded, the backhoe stopped, the lady getting her dog out of the car froze (unfortunately, the dog doesn't get Yom HaZikaron.  But it was quiet).  I was put off by two separate Bedouin couples who walked through all the frozen pedestrians just chatting it up.  Really?  But again, just as soon as the siren ended, the dog came out of the car and the backhoe moved about.

At sunset tonight, Yom HaAtzmaut begins, and I'll be at some of the festivities in Beer Sheva.  Look for that report tomorrow.