The eve of April 24th marks the beginning of this year's Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day, "Yom HaShoah." On this day, Israel commemorates the six million Jews who were murdered under the Nazi regime. According to the Jewish calendar, the date marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on April 19, 1943.
By Dina Ehrhardt
Every year, before Israel's birthday celebrations, those who did not live to see the founding of the state that offers Jews from all over the world a safe haven are remembered. Since 1951, Israel has observed the annual "Yom HaZikaron laShoah ve laGvura" – the Day of Remembrance of the Shoah and Jewish Heroism, or simply "Yom HaShoah." Throughout the country, flags fly at half-mast on this day.
Commemorative events will take place in many locations this evening. An important ceremonial act is the lighting of six torches by Holocaust survivors. These symbolize the six million murdered Jews. The Holocaust survivors will be accompanied onto the stage by soldiers. Sometimes these are their own grandchildren, now in uniform, watching over their homeland of Israel.
The next morning at 10 a.m., sirens sounded across the country for two minutes. Whether shopping, working, driving a car or taking a bus, most Israelis paused for two minutes, stood reverently beside their vehicles, and ceased all work until the piercing sound of the siren stopped.
The annual wreath-laying ceremony takes place on Mount Herzl, near the national Israeli Holocaust museum "Yad Vashem" in Jerusalem, in the presence of the Israeli Prime Minister and the Israeli President.
Programs facilitate encounters with Holocaust survivors
A special program also allows Jewish Israelis to speak with and meet Holocaust survivors. Many survivors open their homes and apartments in the evenings and invite people to these gatherings. This is because Jews who immigrated from places like Ethiopia or Yemen often lack ancestors who survived the Holocaust and therefore have less exposure to the subject.
Furthermore, not only Germany but also Israel struggles with the fact that post-war generations were often told little about the fate of their ancestors. Thus, many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Holocaust survivors in Israel still do not truly know the history of their ancestors.
During Yom HaShoah, many public institutions in Israel are closed. Television and radio broadcast no entertainment programs, but rather mournful music or documentaries about the Holocaust.
The prayer “El male Rachamim” is recited at the memorial events:
“God full of mercy, you who dwell in the heavens above, grant to the souls of the six million Jewish Holocaust victims in Europe, who were murdered, slaughtered, and burned by the German Nazi regime and its accomplices, for the sanctification of your name, the rest they deserve in your presence. See the entire community praying for the ascension of their souls, so may you, Lord of Mercy, shelter them in the protection of your wings for eternity and bind their souls together in the bond of eternal life. May God be their inheritance, the Garden of Eden their resting place, and may they rest in peace on their bed. And may they rise again to their destiny at the end of days.”
The Holocaust is an important topic in the country's education system. Most Israelis visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum at least twice in their lives: once as a student and once as a soldier.
