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On Yom HaShoah, Pray for Peace

Today is Yom HaShoah, the annual day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust. This morning in Israel, two minutes of silence were observed throughout the country. Via video, I saw the streets and boardwalks that I traversed four months ago become strangely still. Listening to the sound of the siren, I imagined its wail, and our prayers, rising like the souls of the six million victims to heaven. Please take a moment to remember them with me now.

Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial centre in Israel, has been documenting the names of each victim for twenty-six years. The program, "Unto every person there is a name," reminds us that behind the unfathomable number of six million souls, are individual men, women and children who loved, and were loved. 4.5 million names have already been memorialised. You can look up, or share, the name of a loved one on their website.

Often, when I cannot put feelings into prose, I put them into poem. It is fitting to share Israeli poet, Zelda's, poem with you today.

Everyone has a name

Everyone has a name
given to him by God
and given to him by his parents
Everyone has a name
given to him by his stature
and the way he smiles
and given to him by his clothing
Everyone has a name
given to him by the mountains
and given to him by the walls
Everyone has a name
given to him by the stars
and given to him by his neighbors
Everyone has a name
given to him by his sins
and given to him by his longing
Everyone has a name
given to him by his enemies
and given to him by his love
Everyone has a name
given to him by his holidays
and given to him by his work
Everyone has a name
given to him by the seasons
and given to him by his blindness
Everyone has a name
given to him by the sea and
given to him
by his death.

Zelda

 

Remarkably, two-thirds of the survivors of the horrors in Europe chose to start a new life in the nascent state of Israel. Addressing survivors of the Holocaust today, Israel's President, Reuben Rivlin, said, "In our harrowing journey, you were the pillar of fire that led us forward. You, who found the strength to rise above the ashes and the ovens, taught us to choose life. You, who loved and laughed, who built your own homes and a national home, you led our entire nation." (Haaretz newspaper, April 16, 2015).

As we remember the victims of last century's genocide, and the peoples that are suffering genocide and war today, let's choose with them life, and lead our world into deeper peace.

 

Read more:

Testimony of Survivors (Yad Vashem)

Israel comes to a standstill as sirens sound for Holocaust Remembrance Day, Haaretz newspaper, April 16, 2015

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