Yom Hashoah

So last night marked the beginning of Yom HaShoah = Holocaust rememberance day. As IGF'ers, we were lucky enough to get tickets to the national ceremony which takes places every year at Yad Vashem (the national holocaust museum). First the president gave a speech, then the prime minister. Both speeches were good and both talked about the Iranian threat and Ahmadinejad's incitement to genocide. Then some songs were performed and a poem/letter was read. The most touching part of the ceremony was the lighting of the 6 torches in memory of the 6 million Jews who were murdered. Each torch was lit by a survivor and before they lit the torch, a 2 minute video was played, telling their individual stories. it was incredibly moving and touching.



Today they had the siren. This happens every year, where a sirens go off across the entire country at the same time. EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING comes to a complete stop. Cars, people, offices, buses - EVERYTHING. People stop what they are doing and stand in silence. I was at work during the siren and went out on the balcony with my camera just so that I could see what it really looked like. The only word that I can think of to describe this experience - is haunting. it's absolutely haunting. it's like someone just pressed the pause button. all you can hear is this loud and painful siren - ringing in your head, your heart, and all around you. it feels like its never going to end and while you're standing there, you just feel this pit in your stomach. i'm thinking - 6 million people. the gas chambers. the shootings. the mass graves. how lucky i am to be alive. how amazing it is that there is a Jewish state to protect Jews from such a thing ever happening again.


And all of a sudden, the siren stops, people get back in their cars, pedestrians continue on their way, and everybody sits back at their desks to continue with their work. It's TOTALLY surreal!! I stood there for a bit and to be honest - i was kind of pissed. that's it? 6 million people, 1.5 million children were slaughtered - and that's all you're going to give them? just 1 lousy minute of standing still? how can you just continue with the day so non-challantly? and you need a siren to remind you? don't those 6 million deserve better?!?!


(here is a link to a youtube video just to give you a feel for what it looks like. if you can - watch most of the video. it's really astonishing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_7RRBH1jgs)

I told my dad this and he said that that's only one way to look at it - and he's absolutely right. I have to remind myself that we HAVE to continue with our lives, otherwise those people died for nothing. Yes, it was a HUGE price to pay, but now there IS a Jewish state which will never allow anything like that to happen again. Many died, but enough lived, rebuilt their families and continue telling their stories. it's all so hard to understand really. in some ways, that simple siren was more effective then any speech or picture. In any case - both days were a really incredible experience and I'm really glad I got to be part of it in Israel.

*whew*

On a lighter note - mom left last night. (I guess that isn't really good news either, but at least it's a change of subject hehe). We had a really great time together. Went to the Dead Sea (twice!), visited family, spent a bit of time in Tel Aviv, and got to enjoy each others company. (Mom's probably going to think i'm just trying to be nice in the blog, but really - it was a treat and I know i'm incredibly lucky to have had that opportunity). Not to mention the fact that I got TOTALLY spoiled with groceries!!! yummm. I don't really have too many pictures but i'll see if mom can maybe send me a couple. we have some great ones from the dead sea where we're both all covered in mud. heehee. it was really cute teaching her how to 'swim' there. ;-)

Anymoo - that's i'll i've got for now. Thursday should be an interested day: east jerusalem and the security fence! I'm sure i'll have plenty to write about and pictures to post.

Till next time <3




*~* Never Forget *~* Never Again *~*