Invitation

The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) will hold on Monday, May 6, for the 22nd consecutive year, a joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah).

This is the only Yom HaShoah event in Israel and worldwide dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

The ceremony will take place at the B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest “Scroll of Fire” Plaza at 10 a.m. Israel time and will be streamed live on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page.

The B'nai B'rith Martyr’s Forest is the world's largest Holocaust memorial and the most significant joint B’nai B’rith–KKL-JNF project, memorializing the victims of the Holocaust with six million trees planted in the picturesque Jerusalem mountains near Moshav Kesalon.

At the pinnacle of the forest stands the “Scroll of Fire,” created by renowned sculptor Nathan Rapoport, which invokes the destruction of the Jewish people in the Holocaust and their redemption in the State of Israel. Prior to the event, at 9 a.m., small groups will meet with relatives of the rescuers to learn about their heroic acts in greater depth.

Speakers in the ceremony will include: H.E. Sergio Barbanti, Ambassador of Italy to Israel; Sar-Shalom Jerbi, director, Education and Community Division, KKL-JNF; Dr. Haim Katz, chairman, B'nai B'rith World Center; Brigadier General Gihad Hasan, Police Border Guard;

and Sarah Jackson, Holocaust survivor who rescued young people from the Nova festival on Oct. 7 (recorded).

During the ceremony, the “Jewish Rescuers Citation” will be conferred on 13 rescuers who operated in France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Poland. The citation—a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize

the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust—has recognized over 632 heroes since its inception in 2011 in an effort to help correct the generally held misconception that Jews failed to come to the aid of fellow Jews during the Holocaust.

The phenomena of Jewish rescue and the instructive stories of many hundreds of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe from deportation and murder have yet to be fully researched and receive appropriate public attention.

Many who could have tried to flee or hide themselves decided to stay and expose themselves to danger in an effort to rescue others; some paid for it with their lives. With great heroism, Jews in Germany and every country across Axis and occupied Europe employed subterfuge,

forgery, smuggling, concealment, and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust or assisted them in escaping to a safe haven. In doing so, they foiled the Nazi goal of total annihilation of the Jews.

Click here to read more about recipients of this year’s Jewish Rescuers Citation.

Photo courtesy: Yossi Zamir