Thursday, October 1, 2026
Students at HAFTR Middle School gathered in Lawrence for a Yom HaZikaron commemoration ceremony on April 21, as classmates led prayers, testimonials and memorial readings honoring the country’s fallen.
Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, commemorates more than 25,000 Israeli soldiers killed in war, along with victims of terror attacks. Led by Einat Rabinovich, the school’s Hebrew department chair, students shared testimonials from grieving family members and recited prayers reflecting on those losses.
The day began with a message from HAFTR principal Joshua Gold, who emphasized the duality of Jewish and Israeli history, contrasting the grief of Yom HaZikaron with the celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israeli Independence Day — a day later.
“It is a lot to experience this emotional trove of Jewish history in just 48 hours,” Gold said. “While we set aside today for formal observance, we carry their memory, their service and their sacrifice with us every day.”
More than a dozen students helped lead the ceremony, including Alma Scharman and Lian Elgrissy, who both have family serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Scharman took on multiple roles during the program, including describing a brother who died before he was able to come home and reading a letter written by an army general to his brother after his death.
Scharman said she values learning about Jewish history in class, saying it ensures the memories of those lost stay alive. “Every single person has the opportunity and responsibility to remember,” she said. “That’s the responsibility I carry.”
Her classmate, Lian Elgrissy, shared the history of Yom HaZikaron and recited a letter written by a mother mourning her dead son and describing life without him.
Elgrissy said participating was about passing on a message for both her family and the people no longer alive. She noted her second cousin, Kobi Zaharon, who died in a terrorist attack on Purim in Tel Aviv in 1996. Zaharon was 13.
“I learned that it’s very important to respect everyone in our country because they didn’t just do it for themselves,” Elgrissy said. “They did it for all of us and to keep all of our families safe.”
In a later interview with the Herald, Rabinovich said she wanted students to understand the grief many Israeli families have endured because of war, while also recognizing the hope and resilience that continues beyond that loss.
“I wanted them to understand what happened to these families and the soldiers,” Rabinovich said. “Because when our students go to Israel, I want them to know they are safe.”
The ceremony concluded with the lighting of a memorial candle and the singing of Adon Olam.
