Israel Honors Holocaust Victims With Nationwide Moment of Silence
Israelis across the country came to a standstill on Tuesday as a two-minute siren wailed in remembrance of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Vehicles and pedestrians halted on streets and highways as Israelis stood in solemn remembrance for those systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.
The somber day is also marked by ceremonies and memorials at schools and community centers. Restaurants and cafes closed, and TV and radio stations played Holocaust-themed programs. A third of the world’s Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, and Israel was established in the aftermath in 1948, with hundreds of thousands of survivors fleeing to the Jewish state.
The official observances began on Monday evening with a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, where six survivors, including one of the few remaining survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, lit torches for the memory of the 6 million killed. Amid months of protests against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s planned judicial overhaul that has divided the country, Israel’s figurehead president called for national unity.
Israel is today home to more than 147,000 Holocaust survivors. But as the number of survivors inevitably declines, the task of keeping the memory of the event alive and relevant has become a growing concern. In “Holocaust Remembrance Day: Remembering the Past and Looking to the Future,” The Media Line’s Keren Setton looks at efforts being made to ensure that the Holocaust remains a relevant part of Israeli history without being distorted or utilized for present purposes.
