Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, met on Tuesday with Holocaust survivors scheduled to take part in Israel’s official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
The survivors will participate in the symbolic torch-lighting ceremony, with six torches representing the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.
Among the participants are individuals who will speak on behalf of the survivor community and recite the traditional Jewish memorial prayer, “El Maleh Rachamim,” during the state event.
During the gathering, the Netanyahus heard firsthand accounts of the survivors’ wartime experiences and their efforts to rebuild their lives in Israel. Netanyahu commended them, saying, “You are very moving in your personal stories, which are also our collective stories.” He went on to say that, “We are here remembering deep sorrow and deep suffering, but also a great rebirth—something no other people has experienced.”
British historian Arnold Toynbee had called the Jews fossils, which did not come back to life, said Netnayahu. However, he added, “We are not fossils. There is a life force in us—a great life force, which allowed us to overcome the most terrible things in human history and to return and rebuild our country and our state.”
The prime minister also acknowledged the strength and dedication of younger generations, particularly those currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
“This generation, your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are wonderful,” he remarked. “I meet them in Gaza, on the Lebanese border. They may not know what the ‘Struma’ was, but they know they are fighting for our future and the survival of our people,” he added, referring to the sinking of the MV Struma in February 1942. The vessel had been carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees to Israel.
He added a broader reflection on Israel’s international posture: “I don’t need them to love us. I would be happy, but that’s not my goal. I want them to respect us. If you are strong, they respect you. If you are weak—they can love you and still destroy you. That is what they did to the Jews. They eulogized us,” he said.
Sara Netanyahu, a child psychologist, shared her reflections on the survivors’ childhood experiences during the Holocaust. “These are stories of heroism, especially from you as children,” she said. “To survive the Holocaust as children, with such resourcefulness and inner strength, in situations that are almost impossible to comprehend—that is astonishing.”
On a more personal note, she noted that her father was the sole survivor of his entire family. “His entire family was exterminated in Poland, but he doesn’t even know where. He arrived in Israel as a young man in 1933—and that’s the reason he survived,” she said.
The state ceremony took place Wednesday evening at Warsaw Ghetto Square in Yad Vashem and marked the beginning of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a national day of mourning and reflection observed throughout Israel.