In a special broadcast on Thursday in time for Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish and world leaders spoke at the March of the Living ceremony in Poland, at the ruins of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.

President Reuven Rivlin spoke in a broadcast message, and Pope Francis likewise had a message read at the event.

Then former Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who serves as chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, took the stage. Rabbi Lau was himself a child survivor of the Holocaust.

The rabbi said things remind us of the Holocaust, such as "speaking of the destruction of the state" - a likely reference to Iran's threats to annihilate Israel and its efforts to produce a nuclear arsenal.

Rabbi Lau also spoke against the concept of "forgiving" the Nazis for their genocidal murder, asking "who asked for forgiveness?"

"The Nazis declared war not only against the Jews but also against Judaism," said the rabbi, noting it wasn't only a physical but also a spiritual war, with synagogues coming in for massive destruction by German hands.