Today’s video report takes it’s name from Polish Israeli poet Natan Alterman. The report, and the poem, addresses the concept of sacrifice and bereavement by Israeli soldiers that has become a strong part of the Israeli national ethos. Alterman’s poem “The Silver Platter” was written in December 1947 in response to future First President of Israel Chaim Weizmann’s declaration that, “The state will not be given to the Jewish people on a silver platter”.
Watch the video report and then read the poem, reproduced in full after the video.