A two-minute siren wailed across Israel on Tuesday morning, as the Jewish nation came to a standstill to commemorate the Six Million murdered at the hands of the Nazis and their allies.
At 10:00 on Yom HaShoah, the nation of Israel stops for a two-minute silence.
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) April 14, 2026
Even if you’re driving.
There is no law requiring people to observe the silence. But everyone respects it.
We freeze in memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Nazi Genocide of the Jews. pic.twitter.com/wMV64SnkUz
“In 10 minutes time, the siren for Yom Hashoah will be sounded throughout Israel,” Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust remembrance center, tweeted ahead of the annual siren.
“For the duration of the siren, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust,” added the museum.
Established in 1951, Yom Hashoah is observed annually on the 27th of the Hebrew month of Nissan. The siren tradition began in the 1960s and has become one of the nation’s most solemn national rituals, with public ceremonies, educational programs and survivor testimonies set to take place throughout the day.
On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command reminded Israelis that if missiles or drones are fired at the Jewish state from Iran or Lebanon during the siren, the sound would immediately be replaced by a rising and falling alarm.
“If an alert is received, act in accordance with the Home Front Command’s instructions,” the military body stated.
