Israel commemorates Holocaust Remembrance Day: ‘Let us unite, mourn together,’ President Herzog says

Israel began marking Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, on Wednesday evening with a state ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.

In his remarks, President Isaac Herzog called on the nation to unite and turn the “Ten Days of Holiness” between the Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day “into a moment of heavenly mercy.”

“Let us lower the flames. Let us heal the hearts. Let us not allow the poison of social media and the experts in smearing and polarization to take over the soul of the people and destroy us from within. Let us mourn together and miss each other; let us hurt together, and yes – even today – let us stand tall – together.”

“History will not forgive those who act irresponsibly and dismantle us from within. History will not forgive those who undermine the foundation of our wonderful country – beloved, unique, Jewish, and democratic; a country that rose from the ashes of the terrible Holocaust,” the president warned.

Herzog particularly turned to the hostages who are still in captivity, “some of whom may hear us,” he said: “A whole people is with you. A whole people misses you, worries about you, cries out your cry. A whole people is in pain and torment, its soul is truly scorched, and knows that it will have no comfort or solace – until you all return home.”

Speaking after the president, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would “destroy the Hamas monsters who committed the most brutal massacre since the Holocaust. There will be no Islamic caliphate in the south, the north or Judea and Samaria.”

“On this Holocaust Day, I promise, we will defeat Hamas, return all the hostages and prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Fighting the fanatical regimes that threaten the world, and doing so in time, is the lesson of the Holocaust,” the premier said.

Six memorial torches, commemorating the murder of six million Jews, were then lit by Holocaust survivors Arie Durst, Monika Barzel, Felix Soren, Rachel Katz, Arie Reiter, and Gad Fartouk.

Survivors Eva Erben and Yehuda Hauptman recited the traditional prayer “El Malei Rachamim,” a request for mercy upon the souls of those murdered in the Holocaust:

“O God, full of mercy, who dwells on high, grant proper rest on the wings of the Divine Presence, in the exalted levels of the holy and pure, who shine like the brightness of the firmament, to all the souls of the six million Jews, victims of the Holocaust in Europe, who were killed, slaughtered, burned, and perished for the sanctification of God's name, by the hands of the murderous German Nazis and their accomplices from other nations.”

In remarks to the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir vowed Israel would remember the Holocaust’s victims, but also “etch in our hearts the valor of the Jewish fighters of the ghetto uprisings, who were surrounded by ashes and devastation and chose to hold their heads high and fight back.”

While the date of the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day was set on Jan. 27, the day of liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Israel’s remembrance day was set close to the date of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Zamir continued: “Even now, the battle for our freedom and security persists. For over 18 months, we have been at war against a heinous foe who seeks our annihilation. Yet we are no longer a defenseless nation at the mercy of others.”

“From that inferno arose figures of exemplary character, the pillars of our society. Out of ruins, they built a home for our nation. We who continue their legacy stand tall in defense of our country. Upon our shoulders rests a sacred duty to fulfill our calling and provide the citizens of the State of Israel with safety and security, while at the same time preserve the memory of the Holocaust as testament and legacy for future generations,” Zamir said.

On Thursday, Herzog will depart for Poland to take part in the annual March of the Living at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

Herzog will lead the March alongside 80 Holocaust survivors from Israel and around the world, including a special delegation of hostages released from captivity in Gaza, as well as families of hostages still in captivity, and terror victims.