On the 26 of Iyar, Israelis paraded to Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to mark the Jewish holiday of 'The Day of Liberation and Rescue of the Jews of Europe from the hands of the Nazis.'
This year, 2024, marked 79 years since the victory of the Allied forces over Nazi Germany. The holiday was established formally ten years ago to occur on 26 of Iyar - the Hebrew calendar date of the surrender of the Third Reich in France.
The holiday, which this year fell on June 3, commemorates the victims of the Holocaust and the rescue of the survivors. The Jerusalem rally took place near the memorial for a quarter of a million Jewish men and women who fell in the service of the Red Army, the Allied forces, and the underground resistance in World War II.
'We will overcome'
Jewish businessman Gabriel German Zakharyayev spoke at this year's event in Strasbourg: “Our generation has endured bitter trials. [...] In the past, they managed to overcome differences of opinion and unite to liberate the world, to rise up from the ashes of the ruins, and build a new world based on new, humane principles. [We] can do the same today."
The day was observed in Israel and around the world with Chief Rabbis, representatives from the allied countries, and Holocaust survivors in attendance. The Mount Herzl parade was also attended by veterans who fought in World War II, IDF soldiers, officer cadets, and invited guests.
Retired General and serving MK Uzi Dayan told soldiers that "there is no comparison to the significant contribution the veterans made in the Second World War by defeating the Nazis, building the State of Israel, and ensuring its ongoing security."
Addressing the fallen, he said: "From you, we learned the true value of victory."