08 May 2006
Tomorrow, May 9, 2006, Yad Vashem will hold the official ceremony marking the 61st anniversary of the allied victory over Nazi Germany. The ceremony will take place in the presence of Minister of Immigrant Absorption Ze’ev Boim.
Hundreds of Jewish World War II veterans of the allied armies, the majority from the former Soviet Union, will attend, along with Jewish partisans, wounded soldiers from the war against the Nazis, underground fighters, volunteers from the Yishuv who fought in the British forces and veterans of the Jewish Brigade, as well as around 200 officers and soldiers from the International Relations Division of the IDF - about 1,000 people in total.
Speakers:
Avner Shalev, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate
Avraham Grenzaid, Chairman, Alliance of World War II Veterans who fought the Nazis
Baruch Shuv, Chairman of the Organization of Partisans, Underground Fighters and Ghetto Rebels in Israel
Simon MacDonald, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Israel
Ze’ev Boim, Minister of Immigrant Absorption
Minister Boim will lay a wreath in memory of those who fell in the struggle against the Nazis, as will representatives of the IDF, ambassadors and military attachés of the Allied countries, and representatives of fighters and partisan organizations. The Israeli Police Orchestra will perform at the ceremony with soloists, conducted by Commander Menashe Lev Ran. Amikam Gurevitch will be the MC at the event.
The ceremony will take place at 17:00 pm at the Memorial to the Jewish Soldiers and Partisans at Yad Vashem.
The event is open to the press.
The ceremony is being organized with the participation of the Education Ministry and partisan and veteran organizations, in conjunction with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.
