The flame of remembrance burns in Jerusalem, and a song of memory haunts Valerie Braham as it never has before. This year, Israel’s Memorial Day commemoration is for bereaved family members such as Braham.
“Now I truly understand everyone who has lost a loved one,” Braham said.
Her husband, Philippe Braham, was one of 17 people killed in January’s terror attacks in Paris. He was in a kosher supermarket when a gunman stormed in, killing four people, all of them Jewish. The terrorist, Amedy Coulibaly, recorded the attack on camera. Philippe Braham was laid to rest in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul cemetery after the attacks, not far from where the Jewish Agency held a memorial ceremony to mourn victims of terror.
“Today we all share the same pain,” Valerie Braham said to the assembled crowd. “I know they protect us from above.”
As Israel mourns on the nation’s remembrance day, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced after his weekly Cabinet meeting that French authorities had foiled a terror plot. Valls said that France is fully mobilized following January’s attack, which allowed authorities to identify and stop the planned attack.
The latest news is a painful reminder of Braham’s recent loss. Braham now lives for her young children. She has two daughters and one son. Braham tells them stories of their father to keep his memory alive and to keep herself strong. She pauses as she speaks, finding the right words to describe the love of her life who was taken from her.
“We had 10 years of marriage together, and we were a perfect couple. We had no problems. We didn’t fight. It was like the day we were married,” she said, holding back tears. She has told this story before, but it doesn’t seem to get any easier.
One month after the terror attacks in Paris, a gunman attacked a synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, killing Dan Uzan, who was working as a security guard for a bat mitzvah party. Uzan, 37, was laid to rest in Copenhagen.
Like Valerie Braham, Uzan’s parents attended the memorial service in Jerusalem. The recent attacks were on the nation’s collective mind as mourners gathered in groups to commemorate fallen soldiers and victims of terror.
The Copenhagen attack forced Braham to relive her fear.
“I have no idea,” she said, hesitating. “It seems they found a way to attack outside of war. It seems easy for them to attack, and it’s frightening.”
When asked where she feels at home, Braham doesn’t hesitate. It is her most confident answer. “In Israel. Obviously, in Israel. In God’s name, we will move to Israel.”
Braham said she will move her family from Paris to Israel when she is ready, but she does not want to feel like she is running away.