Holocaust Remembrance Day
We remember the six million Jews that were killed and we honor their memories. This is not just a day for Jewish people, this is a day for the whole world to remember. – Joel C. Rosenberg
At precisely 10 a.m. Monday, April 24, 2017, sirens will ring for two minutes all over Israel in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Israelis throughout the country will stand in silence to remember the six million Jews killed in Europe during the Holocaust. Yom Hasho’a, Israel’s Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, is held one week after Passover. The memorial day was first marked in 1951, and was decreed by law in 1959. The law stipulates that all places of entertainment including restaurants and cafes are closed from the eve of Yom Hasho’a until the following evening. While Yom Hasho’a is an ordinary business day, the day is felt most in the country’s schools where special ceremonies are held.
After the sirens, a number of remembrance ceremonies will be held across the country, including a wreath laying ceremony at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. During the ceremonies, Israeli officials, IDF officers, Jewish leaders, Holocaust survivors, foreign diplomats, and Christian leaders will lay wreaths to honor the memory of the dead. May those who lost their lives be remembered and may their memories be blessed.
