Over 40 000 Christians worldwide stand for Yom HaShoah siren

Originally published in Breaking Israel News.

As the memorial siren sounded across Israel on Tuesday morning to mark Yom HaShoah, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem hosted over 40 000 Christians worldwide in a live online ceremony which had viewers stand for the siren to honour the over six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

Due to Israel’s current coronavirus health rules, the ICEJ’s observances of Yom HaShoah this year were centred around a live webinar Tuesday morning broadcast on Facebook and YouTube, which drew over 40 000 viewers around the globe. Presented in cooperation with Christian Friends of Yad Vashem, the programme began with a live shot from the Harp Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem as the nationwide siren sounded, bringing traffic to a stop. Christian viewers from around the world were asked to stand in silence in their homes to honour the six million heroes and martyrs of the Nazi genocide against the Jews.

Hosted by ICEJ president, Dr Jürgen Bühler, the ceremony included remarks by Shaya Ben-Yehuda, Managing Director for International Relations at Yad Vashem, as well as Sari Granitza, director of Christian Friends of Yad Vashem.

The ICEJ entered a unique partnership with Yad Vashem in 2006 to form the special arm of Christian Friends of Yad Vashem. Its mission is to educate Christians worldwide about the universal lessons of the Holocaust and to mobilise them to become active in fighting modern-day antisemitism in their own countries.

The special guest of honour was Prof Daniel Gold, a Holocaust survivor from Lithuania and Tel Aviv University professor emeritus in medical microbiology. He recalled his ordeal as a young boy surviving in ghettos and hiding for months on end under floorboards of homes to avoid detection by German-allied soldiers. Gold came to Israel in the early 1950s and served as an Israeli Air Force pilot for over 30 years and during three major wars, before building an impressive academic career in medical research.

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