Twice a year, Israel‘s public life comes to a halt for one minute. The camera is the only audience; for the duration of the sirens, all Israelis without exception are rendered non-acteurs by the action, which has been practised since 1953. The memorial days symbolise the two poles of Israel‘s founding and survival dilemma: Yom haShoah commemorates the Holocaust, and seven days later, Yom hazikaron honours Israeli soldiers fallen in conquest wars.