As every year, Israel marked Yom HaShoah with symbolic ceremonies and actions in memory of the 6 million Jews of Europe who were exterminated by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
The official ceremony began on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 23.4.2025, XNUMX, in Jerusalem, at Yad Vashem, with speeches by the President of Israel, the Prime Minister, officials and survivors. A highlight of the event was the lighting of six torches by six Holocaust survivors. One of the survivors, Gad Fartouk, prayed for the return of the 59 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The walls of Jerusalem were illuminated with six candles and the yellow Star of David that Jews were forced to wear on their lapels during the Nazi Occupation.
The next morning, April 24.4.2025, XNUMX, the siren sounded across the country. For two minutes - the duration of the siren's blast - all activity in Israel stops as a sign of respect for the victims of the Holocaust and to preserve their memory.
The events concluded with the laying of wreaths at Yad Vashem.