Israel is marking Holocaust Remembrance Day this year under extraordinary circumstances.
First observed in Israel in 1951 and enshrined into law later in the decade, Holocaust Remembrance Day will, as usual, feature a two-minute siren sounded at 10 a.m. throughout the country as people come to a halt to remember the victims of the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis.
But this year, the siren will pack even more gravitas than usual, if that’s possible.
Some 80 years after Hitler’s failed but massive attempt to exterminate the Jews, there are still ongoing attempts to wipe out the Jewish State of Israel that rose from the ashes of the death camps in Poland and Germany.
The piercing sirens that became so commonplace over the first few months of the Gaza war – and returned less than a month ago when Iran launched its unprecedented missile attack – are prescient reminders that Israel’s existence should never be taken for granted.
There are still countries, organizations, and people who are unwilling and unable to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist, and the past months have demonstrated that they are more than intent on making their dream a reality.
More than 130 hostages taken captive in Gaza have still not been accounted for, and although the focus on this day of commemoration should be on the six million who perished in the Holocaust, it will not be possible this year to hear the siren and not think of those souls languishing in captivity as well as the victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Since the war began, there has been no shortage of Nazi terminology and imagery being bandied about.
Protesters against Israel around the world have been quick to label the IDF as Nazis for its actions in Gaza and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hitler. Likewise, Israel supporters, including members of the government, have liberally used the N-word to describe the actions of Hamas and of Iran.
Both sides use the term 'genocide'
And, of course, both sides have latched on to the term “genocide,” as if it actually has any semblance of similarities between what is happening now between Israel and Hamas and what took place in the Holocaust.
These loose words have to stop. The Holocaust was a singular moment, the depths of depravity and inhumanity it evoked unmatched in the annals of history. Conflating it with the current war is a ghoulish travesty that cheapens the memory of the six million.
They, and the survivors of the Shoah – whose numbers are dwindling each year – must be the focus of everyone’s attention on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
As Eve Young reported in Sunday’s Post, Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2024 is “more important than ever because of the hope and strength that can be found in the stories of survivors,” according to the organization Zikaron BaSalon (Remembrance in the Living Room), which organizes meetings in which survivors address small groups in homes.
“This year, we want to give hope and inspiration through the stories of Holocaust survivors… to gain strength from them, and to learn from them how to get up from the deepest depths,” said Moran Zipper Goldenberg, co-CEO of Zikaron BaSalon.
At this low point our history, the words of the remaining survivors are a testament to the determination of the Jewish people to face monumental challenges – and to not only retain their humanity, but to flourish. That should be what we glean from this year’s commemoration.
Another lesson to remember this Holocaust Remembrance Day was stated eloquently on Sunday by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.
“The State of Israel was established, among other things, thanks to the soldiers from across generations, who were willing to sacrifice their lives for it. These days, we are in a war where, at its onset, we failed in our mission and lost many… entire lives were cut short in their prime in a war that was also thrust upon us by a wicked enemy who rose up to destroy us,” he said.
“But this time, we are different. A transformation has occurred in the Jewish people. From a voiceless and defenseless people, a people rose up who take responsibility for their destiny: to fight, and promise – never again.”
This Holocaust Remembrance Day is like no other, as the phrase “never again” takes on a very different meaning.