Commemorative rallies marking the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany and the rescue of Holocaust survivors were held this week in cities around the world as part of the annual Day of Liberation and Rescue, observed on the 26th of Iyar.
Events took place in Buenos Aires, Budapest, Moscow, Vienna, Frankfurt, New York, Pinsk, Minsk, Bucharest, China and Tunisia under the theme, “From Generation to Generation Against Antisemitism in the World."
The ceremonies brought together chief rabbis, ambassadors, representatives of Allied nations, public officials and Holocaust survivors. In Djerba, Tunisia, a special gathering was held alongside hundreds of Ukrainian refugees currently living in Romania.
The main event in Israel was held at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, attended by Rabbi Moshe Lebel, head of the Torat Chaim Yeshiva and Av Beit Din in Moscow, along with rabbis and public figures. Hundreds of students participating in the Pursuing Torah project of the “We and Our Descendants" organization recited Psalms and sang memorial songs in honor of Holocaust victims.
Addressing the gathering, Rabbi Lebel praised the children participating in the event, saying they fulfilled the biblical verse, “From the mouths of babes and infants you have established strength to silence the enemy and avenger." He noted that the students were studying Mishnayot and praying in memory of the Holocaust martyrs, including the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children murdered during the Holocaust.
The ceremony concluded with the Yizkor memorial prayer and prayers for the ingathering of the Jewish people to Zion.
In Moscow, hundreds attended a rally at the Skolniki Jewish Center led by Russia’s chief rabbis. Participants included Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Oded Yosef, Bahrain’s ambassador Ahmed Al-Saity, and other diplomatic representatives. Messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were read during the event.
In his message, Herzog described the Day of Liberation and Rescue as “not just a day of historical remembrance, but also a day of gratitude, responsibility and faith," while emphasizing the importance of confronting antisemitism and hatred.
Putin said the day commemorates “the great achievement of the soldiers and commanders of the Red Army and the Allied fighters who crushed Nazism and saved the Jewish people," while warning against nationalism, antisemitism and racism.
Netanyahu noted that “proud Jews stand at the thanksgiving rally at the foot of the Western Wall in Jerusalem," and thanked organizer German Zakharyaev for helping establish the date on the Hebrew calendar.
Zakharyaev said the fact that the 26th of Iyar falls during the Counting of the Omer symbolizes that “the victory over Nazism is not an end, but a beginning - the start of a Jewish revival after the Holocaust."