From the Global Front in Israel

April 18 – 24, 2026

Uncertainty, Sorrow, Celebration

Photo on Wednesday April 22 2026 at Seth Franzman’s annual barbecue. All of us were trying to hold in our stomachs. Didn’t work.

In the midst of daily uncertainty about the war with Iran, this week Israel did something the rest of the world rarely does. It grieved — fully. And then, within 48 hours, celebrated — fully.

Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Day of Remembrance, began at sunset with a siren that stopped the entire country. Literally stopped it. Bulldozers shut off. Cars pulled over on highways. Every Israeli stood in silence, heads bowed. Television channels scrolled the names of the fallen — all 25,644 of them — for 24 hours straight. In a nation of ten million, almost everyone knows someone. This was not an abstract holiday. It was personal.

Then, at the next sunset, everything shifted. Yom HaAtzmaut began. Fireworks. Dancing in the streets. Barbecues and concerts and balconies draped in blue and white. Israel at its most alive.

Why back to back? Why not separated by at least a week?