WATCH Live Broadcast: Holocaust Remembrance Ceremony from Jerusalem

Israel Marks 80 Years Since Holocaust With Solemn Yad Vashem Ceremony

Israel began its official Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations on Wednesday night, marking 80 years since the genocide of six million Jews during World War II. A central ceremony was held at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, attended by President Isaac Herzog, senior government officials, and Holocaust survivors. The ceremony opened with the lowering of the national flag to half-mast and will be followed on Thursday morning by a nationwide siren, during which Israelis will stand in a moment of silence in memory of the victims.

This year’s theme, Out of the Depth: The Anguish of Liberation, focused on the suffering endured even after the camps were liberated and the long path to recovery for the survivors. President Herzog addressed the ceremony, reflecting on the ongoing trauma of the Holocaust while tying it to the present reality of conflict and national grief following the October 7th attacks and the ongoing war. “This day is not only a day for looking backward,” Herzog said. “I speak here not only eighty years after the Holocaust, but also a year and a half after the greatest massacre our people have endured since the Holocaust — when we are still wounded and bleeding.”

Herzog also emphasized unity in his speech, calling for the nation to come together in the face of ongoing division. He pledged to join Holocaust survivors, bereaved families, and former hostages in the March of the Living at Auschwitz the following day. “History will not forgive those who act irresponsibly and tear us apart from within,” he warned. “Our shared rebuilding… is a tremendous and historic mission—upon all of us: as a nation, as a society, as individuals.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived late to the ceremony, reportedly due to security concerns, though top security officials were already present.

Religious leaders also played a role in the evening's events. Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber recited a chapter of Psalms, and Chief Rabbi David Yosef led the mourners’ Kaddish. Holocaust survivor Yehuda Haptman offered a prayer for the souls of the martyrs. In a deeply symbolic gesture, six Holocaust survivors lit six torches, each representing one million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

On Thursday, the public is invited to light memorial candles at the Warsaw Ghetto Square, honoring the memory of those lost during the Nazi regime’s campaign of terror and extermination.