IDF To Add ‘Hashem Yikom Damo’ To Military Kevorim, After Family Appeals

By FrumNews.com

Yerushalayim — The Committee of the Soldier Commemoration Council at the Ministry of Defense voted in favor of allowing the abbreviation of Hashem Yikom Damo (Hy”d) to the official wording on IDF kevorim.

This comes after the family of Captain Yisrael Yudkin Hy”d, a Lubavich soldier of Kfar Chabad, who was killed in Gaza at the end of May, appealed the wording on his military Kever.

Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, approved the Public Council for the Commemoration of Soldiers’ recommendation to add Hy”d, to military kevorim of fallen soldiers at the family’s request.

Gallant instructed the Defense Ministry to amend the regulations for approval by the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, as required by law.

The council, which consists of members of bereaved families and the representatives of the Yad Labanim organization and the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization, met at the request of the Defense Ministry.

The council announced, “by a majority vote, that the phrase ‘Hashem yikom damo,’ is not an unusual expression, but an accepted wording that is part of the Yiddishe faith. Members of the council who were present at the discussion recommended changing the regulations so that it would be permitted to add this inscription to military kevorim of IDF soldiers who fell in battle, at their family’s request.”

The Council also recommended adding the option of writing ‘zichro / zichra livracha‘ on military kevorim at the family’s request.