18 April 2023: Each year, the 27th of Nisan on the Jewish (Hillel II) calendar, marks the remembrance of the Shoah (Holocaust) in Israel. As such, at sunset yesterday, restaurants marked the start of the day of remembrance by closing their doors early.* This tradition makes it difficult for anyone to be seen in public in a celebratory mood on the eve of such a sober day. In addition, in the morning at 10 am, the air raid sirens blast for 2 minutes all around the country, as people stop what their doing to stand in silence in remembrance. Think of it as a moment of silence, without the silence. Cars also pull over on the highways while drivers soberly stand on the roadside.
Below are excerpts of two articles on this subject.
And yeah – I realize that many countries don’t use air raid sirens anymore. Israel still uses them at unpredictable times during rocket attacks, and also at predictable times, such as 10 am every 27th of Nisan, for example.
* Hebrew days traditionally begin and end at sunset rather than midnight, for as Genesis 1:5+ wrote, “evening and morning were the first day.” Thus, Shoah Remembrance day 2023 began on 17th April towards the end of the day, at sunset.
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