The Israeli flag flew in many places on our recent MDS 8th grade graduation trip to Israel. It flew over the graves of fallen soldiers in the freshest plots on Har Herzl, blew in the wind over the word Yizkor over a pile of cars, burned and shot at the site of the Nova pogrom. The parents of hero Ron Gevilli, a police officer who left the hospital on October 7 to fight terrorists, handed a flag to our students with the face of their son on it. Ron’s face in place of the Jewish star, one more Jewish fallen star. The students put their arms around Ron’s parents to cry, sing and pray.
Our flag donned the backs of our students as we traveled through Hostage Square, the Gaza envelope and the ancient streets of Jerusalem. It was waved as we sang after Havdala and accompanied 40,000 participants in the Celebrate Israel Parade on 5th Ave. Our flag has greeted released hostages, the same flag Holocaust survivors raised in the newly established State. It continues to welcome us all home as we land in Ben Gurion airport. The degel flies in so many somber places. It carries us through challenging times. It has been burned, stomped on, defiled. Many have lost their lives for our homeland, our flag. Because of their sacrifice, we can raise it. We carry our flag, but truly it carries us.
