The mask slips, and a Democratic senator expresses the views of his colleagues and voters.

Israel is a funny country. When you think of the size, wealth, and resources of the United States, you appreciate that Israel is amazing but small in comparison to its superpower ally. When I first told my wife about “Memorial Day Sales” and same-day baseball games in the U.S., she thought I was nuts. Memorial Day in Israel is scheduled one day prior to Israel Independence Day, which moves around the Gregorian calendar, as it is fixed according to its Hebrew date: the fifth day of the month Iyar. Memorial Day is not something abstract, as everyone in Israel either has someone close who was killed in a war or a terror attack, or definitely knows someone who died in such a manner. Whereas in the U.S., post-draft, many people don’t even know a single person presently in the armed services. It is a staid occasion, with funeral music on the radio and generally sad interviews on television programming. The military cemeteries are packed with families coming to visit and attend formal programs from the IDF and its rabbinate. Going to the beach, playing loud, happy music, or making a barbecue is considered bad form.

Then, as the sun sets, the independence events begin in earnest. The main event is on Mt. Herzl, where they set up a stadium around Theodore Herzl’s grave. The program is more or less the same every year, and from the president and prime minister down, the "who’s who" of Israeli politics and power are sitting, often freezing, in the makeshift bleachers. A central event of the evening is the lighting of 12 torches, representing the 12 tribes of Israel as described in the Torah. The event allows for the selection of individuals who are accomplished and also represent a certain sector of Israeli society. So a very successful Iranian Jew was chosen to light, as was a........

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