Netanyahu, Herzog and the other senior officials present laid wreaths upon memorial posts, in honor of the six million Jews who were killed by Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II.<\/p>\n
\t The previous evening, Israel ushered in the somber day with a pre-recorded ceremony<\/a> from Yad Vashem, during which Netanyahu castigated Europe for being \u201cafflicted by deep moral weakness,\u201d saying that Israel is now defending the continent, \u201cwhich has forgotten so much since the Holocaust.\u201d<\/p>\n He accused Europe of \u201closing control of its identity, of its values, of its responsibility to defend civilization against barbarism.\u201d<\/p>\n Herzog, in his address, called for national unity, saying Israel did not rise from the ashes of the Holocaust only to be consumed by the fire of discord.<\/p>\n Meanwhile in Poland, thousands of people from around the world, including some 50 Holocaust survivors and their families, gathered Tuesday afternoon at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp for the 38th annual March of the Living.<\/p>\n Though the planned 1,500-strong Israeli delegation was forced to cancel due to the war with Iran, a dozen survivors from the Jewish state<\/a> nevertheless were able to make it to Poland.<\/p>\n \t During the yearly event, participants silently march the 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) distance between the former Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau.<\/p>\n Some 7,000 people from around the world were expected to take part in the march, including survivors of antisemitic attacks in the US, Europe and Australia, who were set to take part in a central torch-lighting ceremony after the march concluded.<\/p>\n Last year saw the highest number<\/a> of Diaspora Jews murdered in antisemitic incidents out of all years in the previous three decades, mainly due to the massacre during a Hanukkah event at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach in which 15 people were killed.<\/p>\n \t While Monday\u2019s and Tuesday\u2019s main state ceremonies in Israel were either pre-recorded or took place without audiences, local ceremonies were still held across the country, alongside the many small living-room gatherings held each year in which Holocaust survivors are invited to tell their story to the public.<\/p>\n The day, marked on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, is separate from International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on January 27, commemorating the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.<\/p>\n \t At the start of 2026, there were 111,000 Holocaust survivors<\/a> living in Israel, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). All survivors are at least 80 years old, and 28 percent of them are over 90, the CBS said, based on data from the Holocaust Survivors\u2019 Authority, a government agency that sits under the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n In January 2025, the authority said there were\u00a0123,000 survivors\u00a0living in Israel.<\/p>\n Dwindling numbers of living eyewitnesses to the Nazi genocide during World War II mean it will be more difficult to transmit the lessons of the Holocaust to the next generation, Holocaust educators say.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.<\/p>\n So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n Thank you, \t\t\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/F260414CG24-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, April 14, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP26104413816489-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tA man stands in front of the Auschwitz entrance prior to the annual \u201cMarch of the Living,\u201d a yearly Holocaust remembrance march between the former death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, in Oswiecim, Poland, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Beata Zawrzel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/F260414CG05-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tSoldiers stand guard during rehearsals ahead of a ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, April 14, 2026 (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/F260414AVS09-640x400.jpg\")
<\/a>
\n\t\tPeople stand still in the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, as a two-minute siren is sounded across Israel to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 14, 2026 (Avshalom Sassoni\/Flash90)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our wartime journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DH-new-headshot-circular.png\" "\\"\\"\/")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n