Tens of thousands of Israelis set out to their balconies to sing Israel's national anthem Hatikvah together in lieu of attending the Memorial Day ceremonies cancelled across the country because the coronavirus crisis.
Israelis were asked to participate in singing from their balconies following the the official Memorial Day ceremony held at the Western Wall. The ceremony held for the first time in Israel's history without an attending audience as Israelis watched the ceremony broadcast live from their homes.
After speeches were held and prayers were said, the ceremony coordinator Dan Caner asked viewers to participate by singing along to anthem led by Lt-Col. Shai Abrahamson during the ceremony.
"Go out to your balconies, stand by your windows, and we'll all sing the national anthem together as one," he said, addressing bereaved and families, and citizens of the State of Israel.
The singing of Hatikvah from balconies was an initiative organized by the Defense Ministry's Department of Family Commemoration and Legacy together with the Organization of Community Centers in Israel. At the end of the official Memorial Day ceremony, several communities across Israel took part in singing the national anthem together.
"The people of Israel didn't leave the bereaved families alone during this national day of grief, as they joined in both during the mass singing of Hatikvah and took part in virtual ceremonies that were held by community centers and local authorities all around the country," said Head of the Organization of Community Centers in Israel, Avi Vertzman.
As a part of the initiative residents of the nursing home "Gan Bair" in Ramat Gan had their own ceremony. The residents who haven't left their place of living in over a month as they keep safe amid the coronavirus outbreak, watched from their balconies the ceremony organised just for them in the Sderort Yeled Park put together by the nursing home staff and the Ramat Gan municipality in accordance with Health Ministry guidelines.