Yom HaShoah is Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Day, a day which is marked across the country every year as a national holiday and day of remembrance. Yom HaShoah in Israel usually falls in late April or early May, and runs from sundown one day to sundown the next, according to the Jewish calendar.
Memorial events normally take place around the country, the most famous of which is the state ceremony at Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Holocaust Memorial at sundown in which the President and Prime Minister deliver speeches and Holocaust Survivors light six torches, which symbolize the six million Jews who perished. In 2023, Yom HaShoah in Israel will fall from sundown on April 17 to sundown on April 18.
As well as the famous state ceremony at Yad Vashem, every school, military base, town, city, village, and public institution has a ceremony to mark the event, although these will also not take place this year.
At 10.00 am, Israel famously comes to a stop when the siren is sounded around the country for two minutes. Even cars on the highways stop and drivers and passengers get out and mark the two minutes. This siren also sounds and moment of silence are held on Yom Hazikaron, the memorial day for fallen Israeli soldiers.
Yom HaShoah is a solemn time to be in Israel. The law prohibits places of public entertainment from being open either on the evening before or day of Yom HaShoah, and the mood of the country changes dramatically during the period.
Most cultural institutions in Israel hold special events during Yom HaShoah.
An interesting resource for further information about Yom HaShoah is the Yad Vashem Website: www.yadvashem.org. It is usually possible to watch the main state ceremony online here as well.
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Event Date: 17/04/2023
