22 Apr, 2009
A two-minute silence
Holocaust Remembrance Day markedA wail of sirens brought Israel to a standstill on Tuesday morning for a two-minute silence to remember the victims of the Holocaust. At a ceremony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Holocaust deniers would never be allowed to carry out another Holocaust of the Jewish people.
Six million Jews were murdered in the Nazi Holocaust during WWII.
Remembrance ceremonies were held across the world, including at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in Poland. Thousands of young Jews and elderly survivors took park in the March of the Living, walking from Auschwitz to the nearby death camp at Birkenau.
In Germany, the parliament commemorated the day with an address by President Horst Koehler.
During the two-minute silence in Israel, pedestrians stopped in their tracks, drivers pulled over and got out of their cars and people in offices rose to stand next to their desks.
At the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, survivors Lia and Iudit - twin sisters - lit a torch to open the remembrance day ceremony, before Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Netanyahu laid a wreath. In the Hall of Remembrance names of the victims were recited.
The Holocaust Remembrance Day is also being marked in communities all over Israel with prayers and musical performances.
story courtesy of - http://news.bbc.co.uk
photo courtesy of - The Associated Press
"For a long time I have kept silent,
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant."
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about silence?
My guess is that for Jews all over the world the pain of the Holocaust is so bitter, so intense, that silence seems like the only possible response. It's just impossible to fully comprehend the magnitude of six million deaths. That's six million people with families, with stories, with hopes and dreams, with unique laughs and smiles, all murdered because of their religious identity. If such tragedy doesn't leave us silent, I don't know what will.
Simply put, silence to remember is a good and healthy thing.
However Isaiah reminds us that we should not remain silent when injustice and suffering are happening in our midst. For a long time we may have remained silent about Genocides like the Holocaust, but indeed we are called to cry out like a woman in childbirth.
Are you aware of the Invisible Children in Uganda, or the Darfuri people in Sudan. These children of God need your voice, they need you to cry out for them. Jesus was a voice for the voiceless in his time, he is calling us to be the same.
- Spend some time in silence remembering the victims of the Holocaust.
- Ask God for the courage to never remain silent while injustice is taking place in your midst.
- April is Genocide Prevention Month. Look for a rally in your area and attend it with your friends.
- Ask a Jewish friend how they remembered the Holocaust.
- Visit these websites with a friend and talk about how you can respond:
http://www.invisiblechildren.com/
http://www.genocideintervention.net/
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