This January 27, we commemorate the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Holocaust. This date was chosen by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, due to the liberation by Soviet troops in 1945 of prisoners from Auschwitz, the largest Nazi extermination camp located in southern Poland. .
The date not only marks the memory of the 6 million Jews killed, but of all the victims of this shameful chapter in human history. It is necessary to talk about the importance of the date, especially when we are still experiencing episodes of anti-Semitism, racism and other forms of intolerance in the world today.
As a Jew, it is my duty to never forget and never allow silence in situations where the veracity of our history is tested. Denying the Holocaust, besides being an immoral attempt to erase and distort the facts, is also a way to rape survivors again. It is unacceptable and must be fought firmly. Each year the number of Jewish survivors decreases, it is our responsibility not to let their voices be silenced and the testimony of those who have lived through the horror be forgotten.
76 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, there is still a lot to say and to remember about the Holocaust. There are surveys that indicate that the number of young people who do not know the subject is increasing – this is extremely worrying. It is a human commitment to continue to educate about the Holocaust so that something so dark will never happen again.
In Israel, remembering the Holocaust is part of our experience as a society. In our Jewish calendar, we annually celebrate Yom HaShoá VehaGvurá (Holocaust and Heroism Day), an important national holiday to commemorate the genocide of 6 million Jews and to celebrate the act of heroism of all Jews. who fought the Nazi troops.
That day at 10 a.m. sirens sounded across the country and everyone remained silent for two minutes. We also have Yad Vashem, the largest and most comprehensive memorial in the world dedicated to telling the story of the Holocaust. Its importance can be measured by the number of authorities, researchers, students and people from all over the world who visit space in search of better knowledge on the subject.
As an Israeli, I am very proud of the history of my country. With its independence signed on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel officially became a nation for the Jewish people, where we will no longer be expelled, persecuted and killed for the mere fact that we are Jews.
Today we are the eighth power in the world, a unique achievement considering that we are only 72 years old and have had to face many adversities throughout our existence. Do not forget our history of centuries of persecution and massacres impels us to be a strong country that faces its challenges.
Recently, we have followed historic peace accords and enthusiastically reestablished diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – they are proof that with respect and dialogue we can together write a promising chapter of our history.
To keep the peace process going, the world must know that the Iranian regime and its representatives are constantly sowing terror and denying the State of Israel its right to exist. The Jewish people live under the threat of destruction from the Iranian regime, which forces us to be prepared to defend ourselves.
We promise that we will never let humanity repeat the horror of the Holocaust again. And stopping the Iranian regime is one way to achieve it.
Israel and other countries in the Middle East want a better future. It is our way of honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and their families.
We remember!