The number of Holocaust survivors living in Israel stands at nearly 150,000, according to statistics published on Sunday by the Holocaust Survivors’ Rights Authority ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Israel is set to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day beginning on Monday evening.
The official state opening ceremony will take place at 8 p.m. in Warsaw Ghetto Square at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.
The 147,199 Holocaust survivors residing in the Jewish state include 521 new immigrants from war-torn Ukraine who last year were recognized as survivors of the Nazi genocide.
Holocaust Remembrance Day, an annual event in Israel commemorating the six million Jews murdered by the Germans and their collaborators, and those who fought back and partook in rescue efforts, takes place this year from Monday evening until the following evening. The somber day features a two-minute siren at 10 a.m. local time when the country comes to a standstill.
One of the central themes of this year’s commemoration is Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, as the world marks 80 years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
According to the data, 462 Holocaust survivors celebrated their 100th birthdays last year. Around 31,000 are more than 90 years old. The average age of survivors is 85 and the youngest survivor is 76.
Haifa is home to the largest population of Shoah survivors in Israel, followed by Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Sixty-three percent of Holocaust survivors in Israel were born in Europe. Significant numbers of Holocaust survivors came from outside of Europe, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Iraq.
1 comment:
Again Holocaust Remembrance Day.
We never seem to be able to stop agonizing over the holocaust.
For many Jews it has, unfortunately (for lack of a true Torah centered Jewish identity), become an identity badge.
There is one huge problem here; the holocaust is always treated as a Jewish issue.
It is not!
It is a Christian issue!
Yes, I know, six million innocent men women and children (including members of my family) were brutally murdered in cold blood.
But that is not the real issue.
The real issue is that each and every one of these inhuman murderers was a Christian.
Born and baptized a Christian, educated in a Christian educational system, brought up in a Christian society. Almost all denominations were represented. And in those days, most people took their Christianity seriously.
Instead of remembering the victims we should be asking what it is about Christianity that turned so many normal human beings into vicious animals.
If we really want it to happen "never again" we should concern ourselves with what made it happen in the first place.
Will these “remembrance ceremonies” ever have the courage to deal with this issue?
Are they afraid of the truth?
Or are they afraid of “offending” the Christian murderers?
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