by KYW's Hadas Kuznits, reporting from Jerusalem   
  
Israeli veterans' day is the day before Israeli independence day. Israeli David Doryon (right) says it’s the depression before the joy:

“...which symbolizes our lives, which are a mixture of joy and sadness.”

Harriett Levin of Bucks County, Pa. (above left) wanted to mourn her son Michael here, this year.  Michael, an American volunteer in the Israeli army, was killed in the second Lebanon War:

“Everyone in this country is connected, and to have the siren blow and have everything come to an absolute standstill and silence is just indescribable.”

Harriett’s husband Marc says it’s comforting to be among Israelis on this day:

“Everyone in Israel either has lost someone or knows someone who has lost someone in a war.”

Marc says that in contrast to American Memorial Day, in Israel everything shuts down:

“In America on Memorial Day, some people are having a picnic, others are at the mall, shopping.”

As Israeli mourns 60 years of losses, former Knesset member Yael Dayan says Israeli Memorial Day is a reminder of why it’s so crucial to push for peace:

“The army is an instrument hopefully not to be needed one day -- hopefully soon.”

See Hadas Kuznits' personal video blog, and listen to KYW Newsradio 1060 all week long for more special reports as Israeli native Hadas Kuznits reports: "Her Homeland at Sixty."