TEL AVIV – Israelis paused to observe a moment of silence at 10 a.m. Thursday in honor of Holocaust victims, as the traditional siren blared across the country.
Later, thousands laid wreaths at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, in a ceremony attended, among others, by President Moshe Katsav, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Chief-of-Staff Moshe Yaalon, Holocaust survivors, and students.
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The ceremony was followed by the reading of Holocaust victims’ names.
Esther Glabelman, whose testimony appears at Yad Vashem for the first time, said she feels like a survivor whenever she arrives at Yad Vashem.
“That’s why I come with a Yellow Star of David,” she said.
Esther arrived at the ceremony with her son and his three children, including the 9-year-old Nadine.
“It’s difficult for me to hear the story. I feel my grandmother’s pain,” Nadine said. “This is the first time I hear the story and I think she is a hero.”
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Sharon travels to Poland
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was scheduled to travel to Poland Thursday in order to participate in "The March of the Living".
He is to be joined by Poland's President Alexander Kwasniewski, ministers Yitzhak Herzog and Limor Livnat, Holocaust survivors and 18,000 participants, who will march 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where a ceremony will be held.
Meanwhile, Israelis around the country, some standing outside their cars in the middle of traffic, observed a minute of silence at 10 a.m. to honor the victims of the Nazi Holocaust, in what has become an annual tradition
Sharon announced he would take part in the
march during the official ceremony
at Yad Vashem Wednesday, marking the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"I'm traveling with Holocaust survivors that survived the horrors and chose to make Aliyah to Israel and build their homes here," he said. "I requested they bring their grandchildren, IDF soldiers, along with them to 'The March of the living'."
"Tomorrow they will stand at Birkenau with uniformed soldiers, however this time they will not be enemy soldiers…they will be the grandchildren of survivors who are IDF soldiers today,
Israel's protective shield," he said. "The Jews will never be homeless again. Never again will we be unprepared, never again."
The greatest lesson of all
The march entitled "no to anti-Semitism and no to Holocaust denial," marks its 18th year, with Jews, non-Jews, Israelis and foreigners participating.
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"This meeting of Jewish youth from around the world and Israel, between themselves and the elder Holocaust survivors, strengthens the collective memory," he said. "After the march they arrive in Israel, which we believe is the greatest lesson of all."
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