For the first time in 21 years, Col. Yonatan Zvi Branski of the Israel Defense Force didn’t spend Yom HaZikaron — Israel’s Memorial Day — visiting the families of two soldiers who had died while under his command.
Instead, he told their stories and those of other fallen soldiers and heroes to about 400 members of Milwaukee’s Jewish community gathered at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center on April 15 to observe Israel’s day of honoring fallen soldiers and victims of terror.
“I and the other two platoon commanders of that company have never failed to visit the two bereaved families at least twice a year: once on the anniversary of the day in which their sons were killed, and on Memorial Day,” he said. He added that both families were fully supportive when he explained why he wouldn’t be in Tel Aviv and Beit Snein this year.
The young men, one Jewish and one Druze, died in 1992 when a Hezbollah-placed explosive device detonated as they made their way back from southern Lebanon’s security strip after an ambush. At the time, Branski was a junior officer and one of three platoon commanders.
For the past two years, he has been deputy commander of the Gaza Division. Over his 24-year military career, he has commanded several units.
While citing well-publicized events — including both Intifadas; Operations Defensive Shield, Cast Lead, and Pillar of Defense; and the Second Lebanon War — Branski reminded community members that countless terror attacks have also occurred.
And he spoke of heroic acts performed by ordinary Israelis who died defending the people and country they call home.
One of these was 16-year-old Ayla. The teenager and her little brother, residents of S’derot, on the Gaza border, were walking home from a B’nei Akiva event when an air raid siren warned of an incoming rocket.
She threw her brother onto the pavement and lay on top of him. She died of injuries from the exploding rocket. Her younger brother will be joining the IDF in a few months.
Major Royi Klein, a friend and neighbor of Branski and his family, died during the Second Lebanon War while leading a group of Golani Brigade soldiers.
Royi “threw himself onto a hand grenade that had been thrown at his unit, and saved their lives while he called out ‘Shema Yisrael,’” he said.
Each of the four, he said, represents a different segment of Israeli society. Combined, he said, they exemplify Israel’s physical and moral strength.
“No other nation in the world continues to fight for its independence 65 years after its establishment,” he said, “At the same time, however, the country is developing and flourishing, but the battle has not yet come to an end, and it sadly results in the sacrifice of many victims in wars and terrorist acts….We are fighting an enemy that has openly declared that its aim is to wipe Israel from the face of the earth.”
Branski said the combination of Israel, world Jewry, and the IDF are stronger than the aims of those who would destroy the country.
The IDF’s commitment to being an army of the people, he said, has helped strengthen the country. Branski cited the hundreds of Druze soldiers serving in the IDF, many as officers.
He also told those gathered that women are gaining a higher profile — the country now has a female brigadier general — and efforts underway to integrate the haredi Orthodox community are paying off in more haredi youth entering the IDF.
“One of my more challenging and interesting command positions several years ago was when I was asked to command the haredi Nahal infantry battalion ‘Netzach Yehuda’ at a time when induction of haredi (soldiers) into the army was rare,” he said.
Branski said he felt privileged to work with the men, citing their high moral standards and commitment to Torah learning in a generation whose contemporaries did not value it as highly.
“The haredi community will continue to devote their lives to Torah learning and Torah values, but will also take an active part in the physical defense of the Israeli nation,” he said. “As a result, I hope and believe that the army framework will act as a catalyst that will reduce and eventually eliminate the friction between the various sectors of Israeli society.”
Along with Branski’s talk, Milwaukee’s Yom HaZikaron observance included the lighting of a memorial torch, prayers, poems, dance, and music. (See photos, page 23.)
Prior to the start of the program, a moment of silence was observed to mark the Boston Marathon bombings, which had occurred a few hours prior to the ceremony.
Amy Waldman is a Milwaukee-based freelance writer and coordinator of the ACCESS Program for Displaced Homemakers at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
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