This year the Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel begins at sundown on April 23 and goes until sunset on April 24. Known as Yom HaShoah in Hebrew, it is a day to remember the atrocities committed during the Holocaust in WWII and the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The theme of the memorial this year is “For a Better Future.” You can join Israel in observing this day by lighting a candle in your home and teaching your children these important lessons of history so that they never happen again.

There is a tremendous emphasis in the heart of Judaism to remember and to act on what we are remembering. The Shema prayer says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).[1] The Shema gives other instructions about how to love the Word of God and diligently teach the children. They are to not only love the Lord and remember Him, but they are to act upon that remembrance and teach it so that generation after generation of Jews never forget to follow after the Lord with all their heart, to love Him and be obedient to His Word.

When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, it was interesting to see how quickly the nations, especially the United Nations itself, had moved away from their original purpose of keeping the Holocaust Remembrance Day. “Never again” should be the reality in today’s world. Yet more tragic than the failure of the United Nations to remember and act on their resolution is that the UN has actually participated in the education of the new generation of Gazan children to hate and annihilate Jews. In fact, they even financed facilities and employees who were involved in the inhumanity, rape, and murder that occurred on October 7. That is exactly the opposite of what the United Nations stated as their mandate of remembering the Holocaust.

These actions demonstrate tremendous failure by the nations to remember these horrific acts and train their younger generations to see a different outcome. The shouts on college campuses demanding that “Palestine be free from the river to the sea” show a lack of understanding. This cry is a demand for the success of Hamas and its brutal purposes. It is a cry for the success of every Islamic jihadist organization globally that has one stated purpose: a one-state solution that eliminates the Jewish people. Hamas and radical Islam do not want a two-state solution. If successful, there would be no State of Israel existing after its implementation. Once again, it is a cry for the absolute annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people globally. We must recognize this truth if we are going to have an effective time of reflection and remembrance.

Please stand with the State of Israel and with the Jewish people throughout the world to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust and the horrors of the October 7 attack that took place against Israel. We remember and honor the memory of those brutally murdered in these and other anti-Semitic attempts of annihilation. That horrific determination by satan is not gone. Let your voice be heard clearly by the nations, by your neighbors, and in any way you can. It is a cry that says, “Never forget and never again!” God bless you. God bless the Jewish people, and God bless the State of Israel.

Listen to this entire message: GIG194 Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

[1] Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).