TOI reports that Chief of the Israel Defense Forces, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, called Sunday for Israelis to show respect on upcoming Memorial Day and not turn military cemeteries into a “scene of debate,” amid heightened tension over the government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary.

There has been growing speculation that ministers from the hardline government will be heckled and face protests while participating in upcoming Memorial Day ceremonies.

While small-scale protests are a common occurrence at events commemorating Israel’s war dead, often by bereaved families, the prospect of the political battle over proposed changes to the judiciary spilling into cemeteries and wreath-laying ceremonies on Monday night and Tuesday has sparked concerns that the moves could offend families and harm the sanctity of the day.

In a commentary published by the IDF, Halevi said: “Memorial Day establishes a deep connection between the personal and the national. This year, precisely in the shadow of tensions, we must focus on the personal memorial and wrap ourselves in its human power.”

“The decree of memorial obliges us to unite around it, and focus on what connects us,” Halevi wrote in the article.

“We must all respect the cemeteries and not turn them into a scene of debate,” he said.

“There is a deafening power in restraint and silence, and solitude with our fallen loved ones cannot exist under the noise of debate,” Halevi added.

Source - TOI/Twitter - Image - Erik Marmor/Flash90