The annual memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Yom Kippur War was held at the Haifa Military Cemetery yesterday (Tuesday, 9/22/26), on the 53rd anniversary of the outbreak of fighting in October 1973. The bereaved families, commanders and soldiers from the naval branch, and representatives of local authorities from the region gathered in the military section to pay their respects to the fallen, in a ceremony that took on a particularly heavy significance this year in light of the ongoing war since October 2023. Navy representatives accompanied the ceremony and participated in the official ceremonial proceedings.
The ceremony was centered around the words of Chairman of Yad Labanim in Haifa, Yehuda Farhi, which linked the memory of 1973 to the reality of recent years: "Three years ago, just as we marked the 50th anniversary of the war and shortly after we gathered here for the annual commemoration, the October 7 tragedy occurred.", Farhi told the families.
"The anniversary of the Yom Kippur War took on a completely different meaning. We discovered with great pain that the circle has not closed, and that the threat we have known since 1973 has not passed. This is our history: generation after generation we fight for our home, bury the good among us, and generation after generation we continue to build and be built. This is not just a recurring tragedy, it is testimony to a people that is not broken, remembers its fallen and salutes its loved ones.".
Farhi spoke about the significance of remembrance beyond the official ceremonies, emphasizing that the goal is to preserve the faces, dreams, and life stories of the fallen, and not just the names on the tombstones. According to him, remembrance is a connecting thread between the long-standing bereaved families and those who have joined the circle of bereavement in recent years.
""53 years have passed since that Yom Kippur.", added Farhi. "Children born after the war are now parents and grandparents, but the pain, like memory, does not age. It only gains additional layers, and now an additional layer that is too fresh. This year, when we gather here at the Yom Kippur Heroes' Plot and light a candle in their memory, we also see the plot of the last war. The same flame, the same pain, the same strength and the same promise that we will not forget and that we will continue to build."
During the ceremony, the traditional wreath-laying ceremony was held at the foot of the central monument. Among those who laid the wreaths were the commander of the Navy base, Haifa Deputy Mayor Yossi Shalom, as well as representatives of the local authorities from Tirat Carmel, Kiryat Motzkin, Kiryat Yam and the Kiryat Haim Committee.
The ceremony concluded with the recitation of Yizkor, the Kaddish prayer, and the song of hope. Afterward, the family members headed to the grave plots throughout the cemetery to light soul candles, recite "Kaddish," and commune with their loved ones.
