Today was יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה (in English: Yom Ha’Zekron La’Shoah Veh La’Gevurah, lit: day for the remembrance of the destruction and the heroism, aka: holocaust remembrance day). It was a day of mixed emotions for me. I was kind of happy to be back in Israel, but it was also really sad because I kept thinking of the Shoah.
Last night things began to change in Israel, most stores closed and all broadcast and cable media either changed all of the programming to be holocaust related or shut down for the day. Also most organizations and groups hold remembrance ceremonies. I went to the one at Israeli boarding school that we share a campus with.
Today, the stores, restaurants, and media continued to commemorate the day. Also at 10:00 (am) there was a 2 minute siren that sounded around the country, during this time everyone, even people in cars stopped. (HD video of this to come soon) The time of the siren was a time for quiet reflection about the holocaust, the siren was loud and effective in achieving this purpose.