Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a stern speech at a state ceremony on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, warned Iran not to test Israel’s resolve, asserting that the Jewish state would respond to Tehran’s “aggression” with “steadfastness.”
Speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony at Yad Va’Shem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, PM Netanyahu spoke of the murderous Nazi aggression that was not sufficiently countered by Western powers, comparing it to Iran.
“Today, too, there’s an extremist regime that’s threatening us, threatening the peace of the entire world,” Netanyahu said of Iran. “That regime explicitly declares that it intends on destroying us, the Jewish state.”
The annual ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister, President of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut, representative of the security forces, and Holocaust survivors.
Israel came to standstill as the two-minute sirens pierced the air at 10 am (0700 GMT) to mark the beginning of a series of memorial activities on the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, an official day to commemorate the Jews that died in the hands of Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.
Pedestrians halted their steps and stood in silence. In many homes, businesses, and offices, people stopped their activity and stood still to remember the victims of the Nazi genocide.
The sirens were followed by ceremonies marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in schools, public institutions and army bases. Later in the day the traditional “March of the Living” will be held in Poland.
TV channels and radio stations in Israel were broadcasting solely Holocaust-related content, such as documentaries, interviews with survivors, and melancholic songs.
Memorial ceremonies were also held in schools across the country.
The Nazis killed some 1.1 million people at the camp, mostly Jews, but also Russians, Gypsies, Poles and members of other nationalities.
