“We are a people that knows how to die together, but we still need to learn how to live together.”

A speech by Orit Mark Ettinger in translation

Orit Mark Ettinger lost her father, Miki Mark, to a terrorist attack. In the same attack her mother was gravely injured, and though thank G-d she has made enormous gains, she's never fully recovered. Three years later, her brother Shomi was killed in an accident. And this past year, her youngest brother Pedaya was killed serving as a soldier in Gaza, and her cousin Elchanan was killed in the war as well.

Four losses for one family. As Orit asked this week on Yom HaZikaron, one night before delivering this speech, "How much can the heart hold?"

But the next day she stood, as she has stood from the moment of her youngest brother's funeral, and spoke words of strength, of determination, and of unity.

Here is the speech, in translation, that Orit gave as part of the "Covenant of Unity and Hope" ceremony held on the eve of Independence Day, but didn't seem to get the publicity it deserved. This is a mark of how the media influences public thought- what they choose to highlight and what they choose to ignore.

But Orit's words are so piercing they broke through the silence.

Here are her words in my translation:

Good evening to all.

To the heroic families of the captives, the heroic families of the fallen soldiers, the reservists and their heroic families. To the various organizations here, to the dear audience, I am honored to be here before all of you.

I acknowledge that this transition (from Memorial day to Independence Day is rocky and challenging, but it is also very moving for me. Yesterday I stood and spoke of the pain and of loss. And today I stand and celebrate with everyone here the 76thIndependence Day of the State of Israel.

This transition is difficult but this transition is important. The people of Israel faced a terrible event this year, a cruel event that no word can describe.

The seventh of October wounded something in our hearts. For over half a year, we have been walking around with an open wound.

We’ve lost many people, I myself included. Our loved ones were kidnapped, and theyare still being held in hell in Gaza.

We stand here not because we’ve forgotten. On the contrary, we stand here

because we remember. We remember that they will always try to slaughter us, to hurt, to kill, to destroy us. Them: Hamas, Hezbollah, the Nazis in the Holocaust– and we always remain strong.

We will raise our head and say with pain and with hope filled emotion: Am Yisrael Chai. (The Jewish People Live.) Because the people of Israel live. Our spirit lives and will continue to shine.

We stand here proudly to say to them: You will not defeat us.

These days -- that are the most precarious -- are the ones that unite us the most. It is important to remember and understand that part of the victory is not in Gaza. Part of the victory is here, in our unity, in the love that exists between us. We must not let arguments break us.

There are gaps, and this is understandable and legitimate, and we will yet talk about them, and we will reach a compromise, but we must not let this tear us apart .

We must not hand this to Hamas. We must not go back to what was before the seventh of October. We must not. For our captives, who may be hearing us through their communication channels, and for our soldiers who gave their lives, and for those who even in these very moments are risking their lives for our safety.

Even on the seventh of October, when there was a horrific oversight that will yet be discussed and widely investigated, even then, thanks to the Israel Defense Forces, we were finally able to overpower the terrorists and prevent harm to more citizens.

Without our independence and our ability to stand on our own without any dependence on the kindness of other countries, or of one leader or another, the State of Israel may not still be here. We must raise our heads, with pride, even when the heart is pained, and to say “Thank you”.

On this Independence Day we salute all of the warriors, and the security forces in the various sectors, as thanks to them, we are able to stand here now and wave the Israeli flag proudly, and shout together “The People of Israel Live.”

We will shout this so loudly, that Hamas will hear it, and begin to understand that they will never- ever - win.

Just like in previous events in Jewish history, this enemy too will be defeated, and will understand that when we are united, a slavery of 400 years can end in an instant. Even the sea can split. And also our captives will also return home. Not out of the kindness of Hamas, but in the face of their anger and their wrath.

I will end by quoting the words of Rabbi Lau, that he said as we walked together on Polish soil as part of the March of the Living: “We are a people that knows how to die together, but we still need to learn how to live together.”

This is in our hands.

Happy Independence Day.