The only Yom HaShoah event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust

The B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) on Thursday, April 8, will hold, for the 20th consecutive year, a joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day.

This is the only Yom HaShoah event 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.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions this year's ceremony will be held at the forest with limited attendance and will be broadcast live on YouTube. 

The B'nai B'rith Martyr’s Forest is the largest joint B’nai B’rith and KKL-JNF project, which memorializes 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.

The event will commence with personal testimonies by Holocaust survivors and rescuers. 

This year's ceremony honors Wilhelm Filderman and Itschak Artzi (Romania), José Aboulker (Algiers) and 10 other rescuers who operated in Poland, France and Belgium.

For the first time, two rescuers from Mandatory Palestine – paratrooper Hannah Szenes and WZO official Moshe Shapiro – will be recognized with the Jewish Rescuers Citation.

Photo Andarta Courtesy: Yossi Zamir.

Hannah Senesh picture: Courtesy: Senesh family.