Adhering to Health Ministry’s coronavirus regulations, many cities around Israel were commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday through technology or small intimate ceremonies dedicated to survivors.
In the southern city of Ashdod, local students held a ceremony outside the windows of a care facility that is home to Holocaust survivors due to the need to maintain social distancing.
4 View gallery
Young people hold a ceremony outside an Ashdod nursing home where Holocaust survivors live
(Photo: Avi Rokah)
"The values of mutual responsibility that direct us are strongly expressed in our concern for the city’s older generation, which includes Holocaust survivors at a higher risk,” said Ashdod Mayor Yehiel Lasri.
In Givatayim, hundreds of high school students were giving out gifts to more than 800 Holocaust survivors living in the city.
On cards attached to the gifts, Givatayim Mayor Ran Kunik wrote: "In memory of our deceased, for you, our dear survivors and for the future of the Jewish people and all of humanity, we will not forget or forgive. We always embrace and care for you."
In Tel Aviv as well, the city’s youths were distributing flowers to the city’s 10,500 Holocaust survivors. On Monday evening, a memorial service was to be held at the entrance to the national Habima Theater in memory of the six million Jews slain in the Holocaust.
The city of Rishon Lezion was live streaming its remembrance ceremony from 7 pm. On Tuesday at 10 am, a live broadcast will again be posted on the city’s Facebook page, this time showing an interview with 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Magda Barz.
The Rehovot municipality was using the Zoom video conference application to conduct several sessions dedicated to the day, while a ceremony featuring the local theater was also planned.
The Holocaust Remembrance Day opening ceremony, which is normally hosted by Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, also took place virtually, with the participation of President Reuven Rivlin and a handful of Holocaust survivors and their families.
4 View gallery
President Reuven Rivlin during the virtual assembly ceremony
(Photo: Alon Degani, Aviv Peres)
The ceremony is normally attended by survivors, members of youth groups, IDF soldiers, members of the security forces and thousands of people from around the country.
In his speech, Rivlin talked about the importance of commemorating the Holocaust, while the chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Avraham Duvedevani, highlighted Jewish solidarity and the responsibility of the State of Israel for the continued existence of the Jewish people.
4 View gallery
A Holocaust survivor participates in the virtual remembrance ceremony
(Photo: Alon Degani, Aviv Peres)
Due to the epidemic, many other changes have been to the state ceremonies, such as the annual laying of wreaths at the Yad Vashem Holcoaust museum in Jerusalem, which will be held without an audience and without the participation of the president, the prime minister and other elected officials.
The ceremony was to filmed in advance, while the annual "Everybody has a name" event in the Knesset was also to take place without an audience.