This year, on Wednesday May 7th, Israel's memorial day, we will remember the Israelis fallen in the long battle for the existence of the state and for our right to a normal, sane and peaceful life in this small piece of land we call home.

We will remember the soldiers fallen in wars and battles and also the civilians and children fallen in buses coming back from school, in restaurants dining with their families, and in the streets going to shop or to visit friends.

On the next day, May 8th, we will celebrate the 60th Independence Day of the State of Israel. The mixture of remembrance and mourning with happiness and hope symbolizes the life we live in Israel day after day.

On March 5th 2003, my son Asaf, almost seventeen years old, nicknamed by his friends Blondi, came back from school riding a city bus. A suicide murderer exploded on the bus killing seventeen men, women and children. Nine of them were school children on their way home from school – including Asaf.

Shortly after Asaf's death, I started looking and learning how Israel and Israelis commemorate their fallen dear ones. Terror didn't start in year 2000. The Israeli Arab conflict has cost the lives of many Jews during the last 100 years, and these are commemorated in many ways.

I documented hundreds of commemoration sites, and created a web site that lists the sites in Israel, from as early as 1913, and all the way to today, after the second Lebanon war.

Each site has its own web page, text explaining the event, and pictures from the commemoration site.

I ask all of you getting this letter to participate in this remembrance campaign. Enter the web site, find a place you know or want to see, search for a commemoration, read about it and look at it.

Then at the bottom of the web page, place a virtual flower on the memorial.

Let's get to the 60th Independence Day celebrations with 60,000 flowers laid by people from all over the world on fallen terror victims' commemoration sites.

's make the crossing from remembrance to celebration the biggest ever and let's stand there for a moment, remembering those that are not with us to celebrate.

The Hebrew version web site is http://www.ezy.co.il , clicking on "English" will take you to the English version of the web site. Click for direct access to the English version .

By clicking the 'search' button on the top you can search for an attack place (free text search) or search for a commemoration by city or area (from a list of values) and even by range of dates.

Some notable commemorations are:

Playground in memory of two youngsters from bus 37 - http://www.ezy.co.il/memoSite_eng.asp?memorial_id=10

Double attack at Beit Lid junction - http://www.ezy.co.il/memoSite_eng.asp?memorial_id=162

Jerusalem bus attack on Mexico Street - http://www.ezy.co.il/memoSite_eng.asp?memorial_id=312


Yossi Zur, Asaf's father

Yossi(at)Blondi.co.il