Today marks Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, when we honor the memory of the six million Jews who perished at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators, and recall the heroism of the sons of the people of Israel who rose up in revolt and fought to the last drop of blood. In the State of Israel, this day has the status of a national memorial day; the Knesset enshrined this day in the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day Law in 1959.
Initially, it was intended to designate the day of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising as Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, but the date of the uprising’s outbreak in April 1943 coincided with the start of the Pesach holiday, which was unsuitable for a national memorial day. Therefore, in April 1951, the Knesset decided to designate the 27th of Nissan – the sixth day after the conclusion of Pesach – as “Holocaust and Ghetto Uprising Remembrance Day.” One week after this date, Israel celebrates Independence Day. In 2026, this day is observed in Israel from the evening of Monday, April 13. The chronological proximity to Independence Day symbolically expresses the Jewish people’s historical transition from Holocaust to Renaissance.
Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day begins at sunset and concludes the following day at nightfall.
In Israel, ceremonies and memorial rallies are held on this day, the national flag is lowered to half-mast, and television and radio stations broadcast only programs about the Jews of Europe during World War II: about their heroism, the perished, and their legacy.
