The number of Covid deaths in Israel has passed 3,000, and as the numbers are reported each day in the media we have become desensitized to the true nature of the tragedy. Add to that the restrictions on gatherings, and so many victims of this horrible pandemic are not being properly remembered and honored in their deaths as they would have in normal times.
As part of Dror Israel’s commitment to the equality of human value (and inspired by a similar American website maintained by the New York Times), Dror Israel’s computer programmers team took upon themselves a project to create a database and memorial website for all the pandemic’s victims in Israel.
Amit Yizraeli, one of the creators of the website, tells us their thinking:
“In the early days of the pandemic, each death was reported in the media, with a photo of the person who passed, interview with their loved ones, and a summary of their life. People read the articles, understood the loss, and grieved with the family. As the months went on, I guess we lost interest because they stopped writing these kinds of stories, but the number of deaths has only gone up. We wanted to find a way to help people understand the depth of the loss, that this virus affects all sectors of society indiscriminately, and most importantly, that each one is a real person worthy of being remembered and not just a statistic.”
The website relies on public data about the pandemic deaths, and invites the public to share and complete information about their loved ones.
In the words of the Jewish Kaddish Mourners’ prayer, “May the One who brings peace to the universe bring peace to us and to all of Israel. And let us say: Amen.”
You can see the website here: https://izkor-covid19.co.il/
(sorry, only in Hebrew)