April 24, 2012

Peres at Memorial Day ceremony: IDF is stronger than ever

President consoles bereaved Israeli families at Jerusalem's Western Wall, says no words could heal their sorrow.

Haaretz

http://www.jewishjournal.com/ israel/article/peres_at_memorial_day_ceremony_idf_is_stronger_than_ever_20120424/

Israeli President Shimon Peres speaks during the opening ceremony of the annual Holocaust Memorial Day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on April 18. Photo by REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The Israel Defense Forces is stronger than ever, President Shimon Peres told bereaved families at Israel’s Memorial Day ceremony in the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday night.

During his speech, which took place immediately after the Israeli flag was lowered to half-mast, Peres said that, while Israel has paid a heavy price for its existence, it is yet to stabilize peace.

Standing before the Western Wall, the president opened his speech with words of empathy for bereaved families. He went on to acknowledge that no words could heal the pain of losing a loved one. “We can collect words from morning to night,” said Peres, “To search the entire lexicon. To consult experts. To try every expression. Every sentence. Every single word. And I know, it has not yet been found and will not be found: a word capable of healing sorrow. The sentence that has the power to console. There is no such sentence. There never was. And there never will be.”