Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah)
Yom HaShoah is a day dedicated to the memory of those lives lost in the Holocaust as well as those survivors. In Israel "holidays" begin at sun-down the night before then end the following day at sun down. On Wednesday I had the honor of hearing Holocaust survivor Leah Kaufman's story. She was a Jew that was born in Germany then fled to Romania - her story was remarkable and all about hope. The next day Hebrew University Rothberg International School had a ceremony where students from different countries read poems and sang songs in their own language commemorating the Holocaust. At 10:00 a siren rang all across Israel for two minutes for a moment of silence. Everyone rose out of their seats and reflected for those two minutes. On the streets cars stop and people exit their cars. Every Jew in Israel stops for those two minutes in solitude. Afterwards I went to Yad Vashem. Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. In the main ceremony hall there were names being read off by family and each family member put a flower on the name of the concentration camp where their family member was murdered. A ceremony then began where the Israeli national anthem was sung as well as multiple prayers. During the ceremony there were Holocaust survivors reciting the prayers and mourning the loss of their family and friends and fellow Jews but also standing with pride singing the national anthem being proud of being a Jew. After the ceremony I walked through Yad Vashem and experienced and listened to stories of those who lived through the horrors. Being in Israel and especially Yad Vashem was very meaningful and it was beautiful to see Israel come together to mourn the six million Jews.