Jerusalem Streets are not Straight

Oh, what a week it was.

The Jerusalem streets are always bumpy with highs and lows, nothing seems to be straight or planned with logic. Maps and photos can not capture the topography of Jerusalem.

When the week and day start with the heaviest dust storm you have experienced, how nice it was to wander on the Jerusalem streets, just as the sun is beginning to set. The dust cloud lifting was a perfect opportunity to take a photo of the sun in the sky from a newly developed area in the Baka neighborhood.

I was on my way to a post-Passover Mimouna celebration (delayed for one night) with a gorgeous table laid out for the invited guests.

Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan Nahoum was a marvelous hostess! Her boundless energy greeted each person who arrived over several hours as if they were as important as the Mayor of Jerusalem who arrived late.

Flyover rehearsal for Yom Haatzmaut, Israel Independence Day was another favorite high of the week. New stunts are planned for this year!

The first time back to Har Herzl, after two long years for an event, I walked past the military cemetery on my way to Yad Vashem.

The official Israel State Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day took place on Wednesday, at 8:00 pm, in Warsaw Ghetto Square at Yad Vashem, on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, Israel. 

The testimony videos are readily available on the Yad Vashem website and are highly recommended, with subtitles in Hebrew and English.

I decided to share with you behind-the-live camera scenes.

Leaders of the several international interfaith groups in attendance found

the atmosphere is different from watching on a screen alone from home.

It seemed to me that more international media was on site this year, after corona severely limited attendance to the ceremony for the past two years.

The faces of the torch lighters standing proud, each with a horrific story of their survival but beaming with the hope of future generations, are inspiring and uplifting, as seen here – Zvi Gill

The numbers of survivors decrease but young leaders and IDF groups are seated in the back each year. It is not common to see children attending, but David brought his young son to Yad Vashem for the powerful event.

In the large crowd, it was not possible to find them afterward for a comment or to find long-time friends from overseas in attendance.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s son and family seated in the center of the second row were a focus of the media.

Former President Reuven Rivlin met with and posed with some of the GPO photographers he spent time with over the years.

Former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu made a much less dramatic and quieter entrance than in the past.

The IDF Honor Guard was back on stage standing at attention as usual.

The new Prime Minister and President of Israel made their entrance along with their wives and a few other Israeli officials with multiple cameras aimed close to their faces.

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau lit the flame as he has done in the past.

The crowd watched the TV live stream broadcast projected on a screen.

I was able to get close to Naftali Bennett speaking for the first time as Prime Minister at the Yad Vashem ceremony.

How sad that Shmuel Blumenfeld z”l passed away after doing his video, two weeks before the ceremony, but his son Aryeh was present and lit the torch in his honor and memory.

Each year the survivors are assisted by a close relative, often a grandchild serving in the Israel Defense Force. Their faces show expressions of defiance and survival against incredible odds to move forward and rebuild their lives.

Before leaving the plaza, President Isaac and Michal Herzog went to speak with the honor guard after the ceremony ended.

Benjamin Netanyahu did also before making a quiet exit from the plaza.

Ayelet Shaked stopped for a photo with an admirer on her way out.

And Walter Bingham, 98 years young, standing straight and strong, a survivor originally from Germany, still working as a professional journalist, was honored with a special seat.

From the Yad Vashem entrance lit at night,

I walked down Har Herzl past the military cemetery entrance again, where Israeli flags had been lowered to half-mast for Yom HaShoah.

Further, on the way home, I passed the blue and white lights and flags that were ready for Yom HaZikaron and Yom Haatzmaut to follow this week.

The crowd always stands at the end of the official opening Yom HaShoah commemoration in Jerusalem, Israel to sing HaTikvah – The Hope.

The Jerusalem streets are not straight, but there is always hope.

Holocaust Remembrance Day to Shabbat: Darkness to Light

Holocaust Remembrance Day to Shabbat: Darkness to Light

January 27, 1945,

 the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was liberated.

 In 2005, the UN set the day of January 27

to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

What better place to remember than Yad Vashem.

In the Vad Vashem Synagogue are remnants of the past.

Romania Lions supporting Ten Commandments

Displayed artifacts from Romania,

Romanian Aron Kodesh

including part of an Aron Kodesh, the Holy Ark

where the Torah scrolls were kept.

Torah from Transnistria and mantel from Greece in Yad Vashem

A Torah from Mantte, Transnistria,

covered by a mantle from Salonika, Greece,

stands on exhibit in the back of the synagogue.

Diary of Holocaust experience Yad Vashem

This tiny diary holds memories,

of those who so much wanted to live,

expressions of the human spirit.

Display Yad Vashem children exhibit

Stored in Yad Vashem are photos and memories

of those who survived and those who perished.

Not all have names.

Children, so many children murdered.

They left no diaries.

Child survivors are growing older and dying.

Dolls from Holocaust on exhibit at Yad Vashem

Soon a doll collection and memories

will be all that remains.

Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on a Friday this year.

But as the sun sets it will be Shabbat,

and Rosh Chodesh Shevat,

the new month that ushers in the spring.

From the darkness of the Holocaust,

it is time for a new season and renewal.

שבת שלום

image shabat shalom and love

חודש טוב

Chodesh tov.

Yom HaShoah at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem

Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day,

began with an official ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel.

Traffic on the way to Har Herzl to get to the ceremony

was backed up for blocks,

image Israel apartheid, photo Arabs Jerusalem, Palestinians picture

  it was faster to get out and walk to the shuttle buses,

rather than to sit in the line of cars.

Those watching the opening ceremony at home on TV,

photo security, image security

did not have to come hours early and go through layers of security.

But this year I did go and we were lucky,

as it was warmer than usual.

image Asher Aud, photo Holocaust survivor, picture torch lighter

The Holocaust survivor to light the first of six memorial torches was Asher Aud.

His son Tziki Aud leads one of my favorite organizations,

the Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin.

As with many other survivors,

without proper food during their growing years,

the children tower over their parents.

image large photo lens, picture of lenses for camera

Photographers were ready with powerful lenses.

image IDF, photo soldiers, picture soldier

Every beret had to be perfect,

image soldiers, photo IDF< picture Yad Vashem

for the honor guard on stage,

image soldiers, picture young soldiers, photo IDF

standing at attention for most of the program.

One advantage of attending a TV broadcast

is that you know it will start on time.

image rabbis, photo dignitaries, picture Jerusalem mayor

Even dignitaries had to arrive early, so there was time to chat.

image Rabbi Lau, photo Rabbi Yisrael Mei Lau, picture Rabbi Lau

Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau lit the large memorial torch to open the program

image memorial flame, photo Yad Vashem, picture flame at Yad Vashem

and passed the lighter to a soldier who saluted before leaving the stage.

image violinist, photo man playing violin, picture violinist

Sanya Kroitor played during the first of the musical interludes.

image Shimon Peres, photo Peres speaking, picture large screens

A large screen on each side of the stage projected

a huge image of the speakers to thousands seated in the plaza.

image Benjamin Netanyahu, photo Israeli prime minister speaking, picture Bbi

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke after President Peres.

image Yad Vashem, photo ceremony Yom HaShoah, picture Remembrance Day

The lights and colors were great for photos,

but I wondered how the view was for two people watching  from on top?

photo Yad Vashem, image torch, picture torch lighting

Each survivor honored to light a memorial torch stood

as a video with Hebrew and English subtitles retold their story.

The audience was silent,

listening to their incredible stories of survival.

image memorial, photo Yad Vashem, picture lights

Six grandchildren stood ready to help each grandparent.

image Shimon Peres with crowd, photo Peres at YadVashem, picture President shaking hands

At the end of the ceremony, President Shimon Peres went to shake their hands.

image Yad Vashem, photo Yad Vashem, picture Yad Vashem memorial

Then thousands had to get out of Yad Vashem and to find their way home.

On Yom HaShoah, there were way too many other programs

in community centers, synagogues and schools to mention here.

image Israeli flag, large Israel flags blowing photo, picture blue and white flags

Israeli flags were flying at Har Herzl cemetery parking lot.

The season “the Yoms” has started,

Israeli flags are popping up everywhere,

first Yom HaShoah,

 next week Yom Hazikaron, followed by Yom Ha’atzmaut.

image Israel 66, photo Yom Haatzmaut, picture Israel birthday

Signs are up announcing the celebration of Israel 66 on May 6.

#NeverAgain                #WeAreHere

UPDATE:

How could I?

I forget one of “the Yoms!”

As soon as I approached the Montefiore Windmill,

my mistake was obvious.

Busloads of children on school trips are on the streets,

Yom Yerushalyim is May 28.