In a powerful speech on the legislative floor, he elevated the horrors of the Holocaust above any of the other previous massacres or battles faced by the Jewish community. In response to these voices of opposition, Kenesset member Mordechai Nurock spoke passionately about the need to place Yom HaShoah on the 27th of Nisan. While not discounting the idea of a Holocaust commemoration, others still wondered later if the day should incorporate a remembrance of lives lost in other European atrocities such as the Inquisition or the Russian pogroms. Tisha B’Av, the summer fast remembering the destruction of the First and Second Temples, was already seen by many to be a day of mourning in the calendar and was therefore proposed as another option for the day of Yom HaShoah. The 10th of Tevet, a winter holiday commemorating the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, was therefore suggested. Setting aside a day of mourning during this period would completely counteract that objective. On the heels of Purim and in the optimistic spirit of Passover, Nisan is regarded as a joyous month in which we celebrate the triumph of the Jewish spirit in spite of unspeakable odds. The 27th of Nisan was ultimately chosen, placing the commemoration in between Passover and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.īut the holiday’s occurrence in this season is not without controversy, especially among more traditional Jewish communities. The recommendation was dismissed because of the day’s proximity to Passover, but the spirit was maintained when the Knesset approved a plan calling for Yom HaShoah to be observed within the timeline of the actual uprising just two weeks later.
For this reason, an early proposal favored by many survivors and Zionists called for the holiday to be commemorated on the 14th of Nisan, the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, perhaps the most well-known of the many revolts against Nazi aggression. But Yom HaShoah also reminds us to reflect on the acts of resistance that took place throughout the war. As the name suggests, it is a day dedicated to memorial and somber reflection in recognition of the millions of lives lost under Nazi persecution. Yom HaShoah is officially known as Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day.
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