Israeli military marks Yom Hashoah
"From the ashes and destruction, the State of Israel arose, and out of it grew the IDF."
IDF General Staff members marked Holocaust Remembrance Day with a forum at Yad Vashem on Monday, featuring addresses from key speakers and a meeting with a survivor.
In his speech, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared that the Holocaust represented an attempt to destroy the Jewish people, but “from the ashes and destruction, the State of Israel arose, and out of it grew the IDF – the protective army of the Jewish people.”
Zamir described the military as “the guardian of revival, expressing hope and enabling growth”.
“It is a strong, moral and powerful army,” he continued. “It is the decisive answer to the horrors of the Holocaust. No longer a defenceless people, we will continue to fight and defend the State of Israel, the Jewish people and future generations.”
The ceremony, JNS reported, included addresses from Yad Vashem chairman Danny Dayan and Rabbi Tamir Granot, whose son was killed by a Hezbollah missile last October. Lea Balint, who survived the Holocaust hidden in a Polish Franciscan convent after being smuggled from the Ostrowiec ghetto, was presented with a certificate as part of the “A Flower for a Survivor” project.
The General Staff also toured Yad Vashem’s “Book of Names” exhibit and participated in a wreath-laying ceremony.
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