Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

IDF To Remove ‘God’ From Memorial Text

Defense officials plan to recommend that the Yizkor text that was the subject of a dispute last year be officially included in Memorial Day services at military cemeteries.

The dispute centered around whether the words “Yizkor Elohim” (“May God remember” ) or “Yizkor Am Yisrael” (“May the nation of Israel remember” ) should be used. In the end, the second version won out.

The decision to officially recommend the text was made after the text – either version – was omitted from many Memorial Day ceremonies this year, apparently due to confusion after last year’s debate.

Though the Yizkor text for fallen soldiers is modeled after the traditional Yizkor memorial prayer, it is not a prayer, but a text penned by Labor Zionist leader Berl Katznelson in the 1920s. It was never a required element in military memorial services, though it was read at many services.

Last year a debate erupted over a version recited in military cemeteries, which began with “Yizkor Elohim,” although Katznelson’s original version began with “Yizkor Am Yisrael.” The change, made after the Six-Day War by IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, raised no complaints until last year, when a secular bereaved mother raised the issue and the media picked up on it.

For more, go to Haaretz.com

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.