MAY 5/NISSAN 27

Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day

(beginning on the evening of the May 5 and continuing through the sunset on May 6)

Designated as Yom HaShoah by a resolution of the Knesset on April 12, 1951, in commemoration of the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, and the fighters of the ghettos. In Israel, places of entertainment are closed by law, TV stations air Holocaust documentaries, and low-key songs are played on the radio. Flags are flown at half-mast and a State memorial ceremony is held at Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial, in the presence of the Israeli Prime Minister, President, survivors and their families. Last but not least, for one minute in the morning a siren sounds throughout Israel and daily life stops, allowing people to pray and/or to personally reflect on the unprecedented horror of the Shoah.

Valley2city (Creative Commons)