Israel stood still as sirens wailed across the nation Thursday, honoring six million Jews murdered by the Nazis. This year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day carried raw pain, as survivors linked history’s darkest chapter to Hamas’ October 7 massacre—the deadliest attack on Jews since World War II.
At a busy Jerusalem intersection, cars froze mid-traffic. Drivers stepped onto asphalt, heads bowed beside photos of hostages still held in Gaza. The eerie silence screamed louder than engines ever could—a people united in grief against those who seek their destruction.
Families of the kidnapped clenched posters showing loved ones torn from Kibbutz homes. “Never again means never again,” muttered a gray-haired man wearing both a yellow Star of David patch and a dog tag for his grandson in captivity. Pain etched faces young and old.
Holocaust survivors voiced chilling parallels between Nazi death camps and Hamas’ rampage. “They burned babies then; they burn babies now,” said 93-year-old Rachel Cohen, her tattooed arm trembling. President Herzog declared at Auschwitz: “Evil must be crushed, not negotiated with.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu laid wreaths at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial, vowing to “annihilate those who dream of annihilating us.” Meanwhile, 1,200 miles away in Poland, Israeli flags fluttered over former gas chambers—a defiant show of survival against genocide’s shadow.
Schools hosted survivors sharing stories of cattle cars and mass graves. Teens nodded solemnly as octogenarians warned: “The world didn’t care in 1943. They don’t care now.” Lessons ended with pledges to serve longer military terms, fists clenching rifle-shaped pens.
Critics blasted left-wing protests demanding softer Gaza tactics. “Hamas butchers Jews, and these fools sing peace slogans?” shouted retired General Danon on conservative Channel 14. Polls show 82% of Israelis back flattening Rafah—proving most understand evil can’t be coddled.
As candles flickered at sundown, talk radio buzzed with resolve. Callers praised Trump’s pledge to “let Israel finish the job” if reelected, while slamming Biden’s aid freezes. One host growled: “We honor the dead by protecting the living. No more apologies. No retreat.”
