Memorial Day honoring the memory of the 6,000,000 Jews killed by the Nazis, was observed throughout Israel in synagogues, schools, and public institutions. Flags were flown at ‘half mast from all public buildings, foreign missions, legations and churches.
Some 50 memorial rallies were held in different parts of the country, including Army bases and kibbutzim while movie houses canceled all matinee performances. Shows, concerts, the visiting Philippine ballet company and the Polish circus also called off performances.
President Ben-Zvi and Prime Minister Ben-Gurion were among the many thousands who attended memorial services on Mount Zion. After Kaddish Luz. Speaker of the Knesset, delivered a eulogy, the assembly sang the "Ani Maamin" prayer and then recited the kaddish for the martyred Jews. The Police Orchestra rendered dirge music throughout the proceedings.
The Polish envoy was among those who attended a memorial meeting at Martyrs’ Forest in the Jerusalem hills. He earlier visited Kibbutz Lochamei Hagetaot, a settlement named for the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto, where special ceremonies marked the 17th anniversary of the Ghetto uprising. A model of the Ghetto as well as books and photos showing the emergence of neo-Nazi trends in Germany, were displayed in the kibbutz museum.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.