Yom Hashoah Commemorated in Israel

Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, is Israel's official commemoration for the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.  Yom Hashoah is commemorated on 8 April this year.

Yom Hashoah is officially known as Yom Hazikaron L'shoah U'l'gevurah (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day).  It is a national memorial day and public holiday in Israel, and was inaugurated in 1953 by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.  At 10 AM, sirens sound across Israel and a moment of silence is observed.  Ceremonies and services are held at schools, military bases, the various Holocaust commemorative and educational institutions across Israel, and other public institutions and community organizations.

Israel began the observance of Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day with the state ceremony Sunday night at the Yad Vashem memorial, at which Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu delivered speeches.  Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird was also in attendance.  Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev lit the Memorial Torch during the ceremony, in addition to six Holocaust survivors lighting individual torches. 

Following the moment of silence on 8 April, US Secretary of State John Kerry attended the wreath-laying and main memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem together with Peres, Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials.

The central theme of this year's commemoration is defiance and rebellion during the Holocaust, marking 70 years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  More information and materials are available on Yad Vashem's website.

Yad Vashem also plans to mark the day with a new online exhibit featuring testimonies about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising called “Voices From The Inferno,” which features video testimonies from ghetto survivors and former fighters.