Israel marked 80 years since the World War II genocide of the Jewish people on Wednesday night, with the beginning of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
A siren marking the six million victims of the Holocaust is set to sound on Thursday morning, at which point Israelis will cease all action and hold a moment of silence until the siren’s end.
The flag was lowered to half-mast on Wednesday night at an official ceremony held at Yad Vashem, with the year’s theme being Out of the Depth: The Anguish of Liberation.
The ceremony saw remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, who noted the difficult commemoration as the country continues to fight a war and hostages are still held in Hamas captivity.
Released hostages sat in attendance at the ceremony as Herzog prayed for the return of those still captive and for the soldiers and their families who sacrificed in the fight on their behalf.
“This day, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is not only a day for looking backward. I speak here not only 80 years after the Holocaust but also a year and a half after the greatest massacre our people have endured since the Holocaust – when we are still wounded and bleeding, reeling and anxious,” said Herzog.
“I wish to lift up the sanctity of this day, even as our nation looks forward – internalizing what I believe is the most crucial lesson and imperative: Just as we overcame 80 years ago – so shall we prevail again.”
Herzog said he would lead survivors, bereaved families, and former hostages in the March of the Living in Auschwitz on Thursday. He also said that he represented Holocaust survivors in a call for unity, hoping in the historic moment of “national responsibility” to “mend our hearts.”
“We are living through days of fierce and painful division. And the overwhelming majority of our people cry out with all their might: Enough! Enough with the polarization. Enough with the hatred. History will not forgive those who act irresponsibly and tear us apart from within.
“History will not forgive those who weaken the foundations of our wonderful country – beloved, unique, Jewish, and democratic – born from the ashes of the terrible Holocaust,” said Herzog.
“Our shared rebuilding, after this great fracture, is a tremendous and historic mission–not upon one person, or one community, or one camp – but upon all of us: as a nation, as a society, as individuals.”
Netanyahu arrived late to the ceremony – reportedly due to security issues, but top security officials were already present at the site.
The prime minister mourned the loss of the Holocaust victims, who “bore the scars of the terrible devastation” but, according to him, also the legacy of the Jewish nation.
He said he had been moved to tears when meeting Holocaust survivors this week and also during a diplomatic mission in Hungary, when visiting the bank of the Danube River, where a memorial of bronze shoes commemorating the murder of Hungarian Jews highlighted the destruction and resurrection of the Jewish people.
Netanyahu drew a comparison between the shoes and the memorials of yellow ribbons and stickers of fallen soldiers, praising the heroism of those that rose up to fight in the ghettos, saying that their spirit sparked the rebirth of the nation.
“I thought to myself about the tremendous changes that we’ve achieved over the last 80 years. After the Holocaust, we were like dust carried away by the wind,” said Netanyahu. “Now we have a country, we have an army, we have a security force, [and] we have soldiers with a fierce spirit.”
Netanyahu noted the successes of the military since the October 7 massacre, crippling Hezbollah and Hamas, and noting the fall of the Assad regime. He threatened Iran with a similar fate if they continued down the path of nuclear weapons.
“No one will prevent us from defending ourselves,” said Netanyahu, recalling the previous year’s commemoration when Israel was threatened with arms embargoes. “If we need to stand alone, we shall stand alone. If we need to fight with our fingernails, we shall fight with our fingernails, but we will not relent.”
Holocaust Remembrance Day was a milestone in the path to destroying those that seek to eliminate us, said Netanyahu, comparing Hamas and their actions to those of the Nazis and the Holocaust.
“They are exactly like the Nazis. Like Hitler. Like Haman. They wish to kill and destroy all of the Jews,” said Netanyahu. “It’s not going to happen. We are going to annihilate these Hamas monsters.”
Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber is set to recite a chapter from Psalms, and Chief Rabbi David Yosef the mourners’ kaddish. Holocaust survivor Yehuda Hauptman is set to recite a prayer for the souls of the martyrs, and six other Holocaust survivors will light six torches, each representing a million souls extinguished by the Nazis and their collaborators.
On Thursday, the public is welcome to light candles in the Warsaw Ghetto Square in memory of those who fell victim to the Nazi persecution and genocide.