04/22/2026
Community Recalls Fallen Soldiers, Terror Victims
A pair of boys from Mandel Jewish Day School put down a memorial wreath to represent day school children during the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Yom Hazikaron ceremony on April 20 at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Beachwood. CJN Photo / Jimmy Oswald
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
by Jimmy Oswald
Some who took to the podium shared a personal anecdote, while others recited poetry. A few sang somber, reflective Israeli songs.
But no matter the method, everyone who presented at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Remembrance Day, commemoration on April 20 at Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Beachwood was doing so to honor fallen soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and victims of terror.
“May the memories of those we honor tonight be a blessing,” Rabbi Scott Roland of Congregation Shaarey Tikvah said to open the event. “And may we carry them not only in what we remember, but in how we live and what we hold on to together.”
The over 400 people in attendance rose for a siren before Rabbi Ben Keil, assistant rabbi at Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood, and Rabbi Hal Rudin-Luria of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike recited Yizkor.
“Remembrance days are a chance to reignite the memory of the fallen, to ensure their names live on, and therefore they, in a sense, live on too,” Rebecca Bar-Shain, co-chair of the Federation’s Yom Hazikaron committee, said. “Each year on Yom Hazikaron, we become the guardians of their names. ... Each time we say their names, we bring a new spark to their souls.”
Naama Arzi, director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School in Beachwood, and Jeff Lox, president of Wingspan Care Group, read “These Names,” a poem written by Israeli Bacol Serlui immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion into Israel.
Leah Spector, former principal and director of Jewish studies at Mandel JDS, then shared a personal story about a family that she first met while growing up in Israel who lost six people during their service in the IDF, from the 1973 Yom Kippur War to 2023 in the ensuing conflict after Oct. 7.
ShinShinim ambassadors performed “Etzlenu BaGan” and Allison Wuliger read a tribute to Segev Schwartz, an IDF soldier killed in the Battle of Sufa on Oct. 7, 2023, that was written by his mother, Sara.
Wuliger lit a memorial candle, while Stanislav Golovin provided musical accompaniment on the clarinet.
Memorial wreaths were walked down the aisle and placed on the bimah by the Barzilay and Arad families, representing Israelis living in Cleveland, commemorating all victims of war; Windi and Ervin Pavlofsky, representing the Jewish Federation overseas connection committee and commemorating prisoners of war and those missing in action; Aaron Danielpour, representing the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Young Leadership Division in honor of those whose place of burial is unknown; Matt Rosner, Lyla Levin, Michael Kalir and Michael Beck, with teen shinim, from the Federation’s partnership with Beit Shean and the Valley of Springs, in honor of all victims of acts of terror and to represent teen community; and students from Mandel JDS and Gross Schechter Day School in Pepper Pike to represent day school children.
Golovan played a musical tribute and Rabbi Eddie Sukol of The Shul in Pepper Pike recited El Malei Rachamim before Iris Granot, teacher at Gross Schechter Day School, where she is also director of Hebrew immersion and associate director of early childhood education, and Jesse Rosen, Mandel Jewish Community Center of Beachwood president and CEO, read the poem, “I Don't Need Memorial Days" by Roei Dinar.
The Federation’s community shlicha, Ella Caspi, shared a story about a classmate of hers in Israel who was killed at the Nova music festival during the Hamas surprise attack.
Lydia Frankel, a national board member of Israeli-American Council, and Jeremy Sosin, AJC Cleveland president, recited the poem, “My Brother Yehuda,” by Ehud Manor. Alain DeWolf and Monty Mazer delivered the closing prayer for Israel and its soldiers.
Memorial pieces honoring IDF soliders and victims of terrors from over the years, created by Andrea Levine and volunteers in the community, were on display along with candles that attendees could light.
“We forever live in remembrance, and today we remember as a community together,” Bar-Shain said in her closing remarks.
