Israel’s official memorial ceremony for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States was held this afternoon at the national 9/11 memorial in the Jerusalem Forest, developed by the Jewish National Fund.
The OneFamily Fund, representing Israel’s victims of terror, was invited to attend together with American Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, families of the Israelis killed in the 9/11 attacks, and members of Israel’s police department and fire department.
OneFamily staff, and Israeli victims of terror were welcomed by US Embassy Counselor Dan Goldberg, and were invited to mark our identification with the victims of 9/11 and all American citizens as we stood shoulder to shoulder with a crowd of about 300 people in commemoration and respect of the nearly 3000 lives so brutally taken on that terrible day.
US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro spoke of the close relationship and enduring friendship shared between the American and Israeli people, and made special mention of our shared values.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon spoke of the values of democracy and freedom that are the bedrock of our two nations and that were attacked on September 11. “On that day, we were all Americans. We were in shock, we were concerned, and we were in awe of the quiet determination of the American people as they grappled with the enormous tragedy of that day and awakened to a new reality. We stood behind America as it waged the war on terror, sharing with it the pain of the attack on our values and the determination to defend the free world from terrorist attacks and oppression.”
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat spoke about his experiences that day, while he was attending a business meeting on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. “We spent the entire day trying to find out information about people we knew, and then spent the evening watching in horror as people danced in the streets of Gaza,” he said, drawing a very sharp line between the freedom and values that the people of Israel share with the people of the United States and the terror and repression that is celebrated by the terrorist organizations that rule Gaza.
Jewish National Fund World Chairman Effi Stenzler thanked the American people for their warm participation in the development of the memorial plaza, and recalled the shared values of freedom and progress that allow our two countries to lead the world in defending against the evils of terrorism.
OneFamily’s bereaved fathers’ choir performed two songs during the ceremony recalling the shattered dreams of those who were murdered and the hope and optimism for a better future that we share with the people of America. And at the end of the ceremony, the choir performed the national anthems.
It is with a sense of shared purpose and determination that OneFamily stands with the families of those murdered on September 11, 2001, with those who were injured, with those who risked their lives trying to rescue people from the burning towers and the Pentagon, and with the entire American nation. Today, on the 10th anniversary of the horrendous attacks on the United States and on the entire free world, we are all, Americans and Israelis together, OneFamily.
