Israel paused in unison as sirens sounded across the nation, marking a solemn moment to honor the memory of six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust. The country stood still—literally, everyone—from bustling city streets to rural backroads—in an act of collective remembrance that’s hard to imagine happening anywhere else.

The official state ceremony unfolded Wednesday night under the theme "Out of the Depths: The Pain of Liberation and Growth." The commemoration carried a heavier weight this year, with the shadow of last October's massacre, the drawn-out conflict with Hamas, and the fate of 59 hostages—Americans included—still held in Gaza. The sense of grief here is layered: mourning the past, aching for the present.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the crowd, drawing a direct line from the horrors of the Holocaust to today's threats: "Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were defenseless. Today, we are no longer helpless. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, and we will do whatever is necessary to return our hostages and defeat our enemies." He didn’t mince words, likening Hamas to the Nazis and promising that Israel would "settle the score" with those responsible for violence against their people.

President Isaac Herzog echoed this resolve at Yad Vashem, the nation's Holocaust memorial: "We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will not remain silent. Not in the face of Hamas, not in the face of Iran, and not in the face of those who wish us harm—whether with missiles, machetes, or lies." He later led the March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, standing alongside 80 survivors and an Israeli delegation that included 10 freed hostages. The participants ranged in age from 80 to 97—living testaments to resilience, even as time thins their ranks.

Holocaust survivor Gad Fartouk, 93, was among those lighting memorial torches at the ceremony, offering a simple and heartfelt prayer: "May all the hostages come home soon. Amen." The event also included relatives of those murdered or still held captive, as well as families grieving loved ones lost in the current conflict.

Former captive Eli Sharabi, marching in memory of his brother whose body remains in Gaza, spoke for many: "The Jewish people sanctify life, not death. We come here with the hope that the covenant between the state and its citizens will be honored – that all the hostages will return, both the living to their homes and the fallen to a proper burial." Sharabi’s words were a reminder that even amidst the bleakest chapters, some manage to carry the torch of hope.

This year’s March highlighted not only the survivors but also honored the Allied forces who liberated Nazi camps 80 years ago, with Merrill Eisenhower Atwater, great-grandson of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, participating in the tribute.

But the number of Holocaust survivors is quickly shrinking. About 120,000 remain in Israel, with 13,000 passing away just in the last year. A recent report estimates only half will still be alive in six years, and by 2040, just over 22,000 may remain. The urgency to hear and preserve their stories has never been greater.

Yom Hashoah, established in 1951, is observed annually on the 27th day of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar and involves ceremonies and survivor testimonies across Jewish communities around the world. As the world grapples with surging anti-Semitism, this day remains a powerful reminder that the past is never as far away as we hope—and that history’s lessons still need repeating.

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