08 April 2015
The central theme for this year's Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day is The Anguish of Liberation and the Return to Life: Seventy Years Since the End of WWII.
The official Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day will take place on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at 20:00, in Warsaw Ghetto Square, Yad Vashem, Mount of Remembrance, Jerusalem.
Israel's President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak. Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate, will kindle the Memorial Torch. Hana Meiri will speak on behalf of the survivors. During the ceremony, Holocaust survivors will light six torches. First torch: Avraham Harshalom, second torch: Dov Shimoni, third torch: Sara Weinstein, fourth torch: Ephraim Reichenberg, fifth torch: Eggi Lewysohn, sixth torch: Shela Altaraz. During the ceremony, short videos about each of the torchlighters will be shown (produced and directed by Shlomo Hazan).
The traditional memorial service will take place during the ceremony. The Rishon LeZion Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef will recite Psalms. The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau will recite Kaddish. El Maleh Rahamim, a Jewish prayer for the souls of the martyrs, will be recited by Lt. Col Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the IDF. Participants in the ceremony include singers Avraham Tal and as the IDF Paratroopers' Honor Guard. Narrative pieces: actors Amos Tamam, Ania Bukstein. The evening's MC will be Tali Moreno.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on television on Channels 1, 2, 10 and 33, and channel 9 in Russian, and on Kol Israel and Galei Zahal radio. It will last about one hour and a quarter.
At 21:30, an event in cooperation of Yad Vashem and the Tel Aviv municipality and Tel Aviv Cinematheque will take place at the Cinematheque: "The Holocaust in film and the works of David Perlov: between personal memory and cinematic creativity. Discussion with Liat Benhabib, Director, Yad Vashem Visual Center, and Mira and Yael Perlov, interspersed with film excerpts. Open to the public, free of charge. Registration and details: cinema.co.il 03-6060800, ext. 1.
Yad Vashem will be closed to the public as of 12 noon on April 15. It will re-open on Thursday, April 16, at 8:00 a.m. The Museum Complex and Children’s Memorial will open at 11:00. Throughout Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 16, special guided tours and behind-the-scenes briefings are open to the public. The events will take place in Hebrew and are free. The full listing and times are available on www.yadvashem.org.
Yad Vashem calls on the public to fill in Pages of Testimony to commemorate the names of Jews murdered in the Holocaust. Volunteers are available to help Holocaust survivors fill out Pages of Testimony (in Israel please call: 02 6443808). Yad Vashem is also continuing the Gathering the Fragments campaign in an effort to rescue Holocaust-related documents, artifacts, photographs and art. To donate material to Yad Vashem, call [in Israel] 02 644 3888.
MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS
Entrance for Journalists to the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 COVERAGE OF THE OPENING CEREMONY IS OPEN, WITH PRIOR REGISTRATION AT media.relations@yadvashem.org.il AND VALID 2015 GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE CARD ONLY.
Shuttles will run from Mt. Herzl from 18:00. Private vehicles will not be admitted to Yad Vashem. No firearms permitted. It is recommended to dress warmly.
Entrance for Journalists to the Wreath-Laying Ceremony in the Presence of the President and Prime Minister, Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.
Journalists will be permitted to enter the site by buses available to the public at the Mt. Herzl parking lot beginning at 7:30 a.m. Private vehicles will not be admitted to Yad Vashem. ENTRANCE WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED WITH A VALID 2015 GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE CARD. THERE WILL BE NO ENTRY TO THE CEREMONY AFTER 8:30 a.m. No Firearms Permitted.
There will also be a Pool Position during the wreath-laying ceremony:
Stills: AP
TV: Reuters
From 11:00-20:00 entry will be permitted to all events at Yad Vashem, by way of shuttle service from Mt. Herzl.
Holocaust Remembrance Day Thursday, April 16, 2015
This year, Yad Vashem will provide opportunities to look behind-the-scenes. On Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, Yad Vashem will hold a series of gatherings with the general public, allowing participants to experience and appreciate the complexity and sensitivity of its work. Facilitated by Yad Vashem experts, participants will have access to documents and artifacts that are not on display year-round. These gatherings will be conducted in Hebrew. Further details on the Yad Vashem website, in Hebrew.
Throughout the day, Yad Vashem's International School for Holocaust Studies will be running educational activities for groups, youth movements, pre-military academies, girls in National Service and participants in the "Masa Israel Journey" program.
The new online exhibition The Death March to Volary, based on the most updated research on the death marches, testimonies of survivors and US Army veterans, and documentation from the trial of death march commander Alois Dorr, sheds light on this little known chapter of the Holocaust. Of the approximately 1300 women sent on the Volary Death March, some 350 survived. This remarkable exhibition tells their harrowing story.
10:00 Siren 10:02 Wreath-laying ceremony with the participation of Israel's President, Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, Supreme Court Justice, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization, Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Chief of the General Staff, Chief of Police, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mayor of Jerusalem, representatives of survivor and fighter organizations and delegations from throughout the country—Warsaw Ghetto Square
10:30 – 12:30 “Unto Every Person There is a Name Recitation of Holocaust victims' names by members of the public Hall of Remembrance
13:00 Main memorial ceremony—Hall of Remembrance 17:30 Ceremony for youth movements with the participation of the Director General of the Ministry of Education Michal Cohen, Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev, Holocaust survivors and hundreds of members of the youth movements, held in conjunction with the Ministry of Education's Youth Movement Council and Youth and Social Administration—Valley of the Communities
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18:30 Gathering of the Generation to Generation Bearers of the Holocaust and Heroism Legacy†organization, Shalom Aleichem House, Tel Aviv, with the participation of Dr. Haim Gertner, Director of the Yad Vashem Archives Registration: dorot.hahemshech@gmail.com or tel: 02-6443822
