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The day before clouds of roasting aromas waft over parks and gardens across Israel as families gather there with barbecues and lemonade to mark Israel’s Independence Day on Thursday, the country pauses in mourning. Wednesday is Yom Ha Zikaron, the national day of remembrance for those who died in the many wars in the short history of the fragile state of Israel – and also a day of remembrance for the victims of the terrorist attacks. There is not a Jewish Israeli who did not know at least one person who died in wars or in acts of terrorism. When the sirens wail for two minutes at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, everything comes to a standstill.