Shalom friends,

On Friday a car ramming terror attack stole from us two IDF soldiers, leaving others injured (one critically). 21 year old Capt. Ziv Daos was 21 years old. Sgt. Netanel Kahalani was just 20. At Ziv’s funeral his father lamented: “A son should bury his father, not the other way around.”

On Sunday 32-year-old Adiel Kolman was stabbed to death in Jerusalem. His four children will now be forced to grow up with no father. His wife is left to take care of them, raise them, alone.

The family of Israel is a small one and these losses hit us hard. At the same time, the Israeli response to terrorism can provide inspiration and hope for people around the world.

The day after Adiel was murdered, before he was buried, his mother said:

"I knew he was gone before they told me. I felt it in the tips of my fingers. And I told my children that we must choose life. That soon it will be the 70th birthday of our country and we must celebrate this land that is ours, from the Golan to the beach of Gaza. I screamed, I cried. It's okay [to let emotions out]. We must choose life."

We must celebrate this land that is ours. We must choose life.

This simple statement is deeply profound. We do not choose when we die but we can choose how we live. Do we appreciate what we have? Or do we take it for granted? Do we savor the moments with our loved ones? Or do we wish the kids would stop bouncing off the walls and our spouses leave us alone? Do we appreciate that the Jewish people now have a sovereign State or do we take it for granted? What are we doing to make sure that the next generations have Israel to live in or visit as they please?

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In preparation for this upcoming Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s 70th Memorial Day, the Israel Forever Foundation has partnered with the Helping Israel Fund on a special campaign to remember every soldier who has fallen in Israel’s defense.