The Helicopter Disaster Monument and the Paradox of Privatizing the Commemoration of the Nation’s Dead
Keywords:
The Helicopter Disaster, Commemoration of Fallen Soldiers in Israel, Memory Culture in Israel, Public Memory, Memorial Site for the Fallen of the Helicopter DisasterAbstract
On February 4, 1997, two military helicopters carrying 73 Israeli troops to Lebanon collided in mid-air, killing all aboard. It was the worst accident in Israeli history. This essay discusses the various commemorative practices that were used to place the event in a meaningful historical context, leading from private commemorations to the massive monument built on the spot where one of the helicopters crashed.
The commemoration of the soldiers is examined within the context of the changes in Israel’s culture of memory, especially the privatization process and the political, financial, and ethical issues it creates for memory entrepreneurs. The nature of the disaster, lying somewhere between an accident and a military operation, also had a substantive impact on the disaster’s status in public memory. The research is based on qualitative methodologies (documentary analysis, observation, interviews, and so forth) that reflect the period between the time of the event to the completion of the monument, and the changing place of memory in contemporary Israeli society.
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