Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel

April 7-8 marks Yom Hashoah or Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel. Yom Hashoah was established in Israel in 1953 by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister, as a day to commemorate the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. According to the U.S. Holocaust Museum, the American Jewish Yearbook placed the total Jewish population of Europe at about 9.5 million in 1933. This number represented more than 60 percent of the world’s Jewish population, which was estimated at 15.3 million. Most European Jews resided in eastern Europe, with about 5 1/2 million Jews living in Poland and the Soviet Union. Before the Nazi takeover of power in 1933, Europe had a dynamic and highly developed Jewish culture. In little more than a decade, most of Europe would be conquered, occupied, or annexed by Nazi Germany and most European Jews–two out of every three–would be dead. A large segment Israel’s population are the survivors of the Holocaust or children of survivors.

Yom Hashoah is a solemn day in Israel which is inaugurated the evening before the actual day, since the Jewish calendar follows the moon rather than the sun. Yom Hashoah begins with a special ceremony at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, where the Israeli flag is lowered to half-mast, the Prime Minister gives a speech, and Holocaust survivors light torches symbolizing the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. Yad Vashem is Israel’s national Holocaust Museum and a common destination for foreign visitors upon arrival in Israel. It is one of the most comprehensive Holocaust museums in the entire world.

On the eve of Yom Hashoah, places of entertainment, such as theaters, pubs, and cinemas, are shut down. Additionally, throughout Yom Hashoah, documentaries and films about the Holocaust are shown on Israeli television. Sad solemn songs are usually plaid on the radio. One won’t hear people blasting lively music on this day in Israel. The news media will also discuss the Holocaust and remind readers and viewers of that dark chapter in Jewish history.

At 10am the following morning, sirens are heard throughout Israel for two minutes. Israelis every where stop what they are doing and stand up out of respect. It does not matter if one is driving ones car, taking a train or bus, walking to the grocery store, working, studying, sleeping, etc. Every one drops what they are doing in order to commemorate the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust within Israel and show their respect to the Holocaust victims and survivors.

After that, ceremonies are usually held at schools, military bases, and by various organizations within Israel. Ben-Gurion University, for example, usually invites a Holocaust survivor to come in and speak in front of the students, as the studying ceases for about an hour to remember the fate of the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. The President of Ben-Gurion University, Rivka Carmi, also usually speaks on this occasion and students who are descended from Holocaust survivors are called up to light torches. Poetry related to the Holocaust is also recited and the ceremony concludes with the singing of Hatikva, Israel’s national anthem. Other ceremonies held throughout the country are quite similar to that at Ben-Gurion University. Indeed, it is a powerful experience to commemorate Yom Ha-Shoah within the Holy Land.

To view a video of the Holocaust Memorial Day siren in Israel, see below!

By Rachel Avraham

Why do so many nations seek the downfall of Israel --- God's chosen land?

In Genesis 12:3, the Bible clearly warns that God will judge and curse anyone who takes Israel lightly, and interferes with the nation, or attempts to divide and give away His Land. A Palestinian State on the land that God promised to Abraham and the Israelite people is not in keeping with His destiny for His Land, and I believe that the disasters that are already striking on a global basis may well be because of the way that Nations are lining up to divide the Land.  If they are serious about creating this illegitimate Palestinian State, then we can expect far more intense and catastrophic disasters to occur in the months ahead. 


Palestine is the name given to the land of the Philistine's who you will know from The Bible, are the ones who wanted Christ disposed of because He threatened their existence. Most importantly, it is not a State, and never has been, It is an area of land to the west of the River Jordan. However, as a result of terrorist activities, particularly from the time of Yasser Arafat, pressure has increasingly been brought to bear upon the United Nations and its member States to recognise Palestine as a State, and even to recognise their so-called President and government in exile. Because of the oil-wealth of the Arab States many nations have signed up to this falsehood and the western media have been fed a tissue of lies designed to aid the downfall of Israel.


However, the important thing to recognise is that no matter how powerful these States may be, both individually and collectively, their power is less than a gnat-bite when contrasted to the power of god's wrath. Many observers feel convinced that the dreadful disasters that have befallen the world over the last two or three years, including the financial ruin of many nations, all form part of the signs of the second coming of Jesus Christ. If this is the case, and it may well be so arguably, then all the Nations need to bear in mind that when He comes the Great Judgement will follow.


I urge every committed Christian to pray as you have never prayed before, that the full restoration of God's people, Israel, will come about soon, and that Christ's enemies will, as Scripture predicts, become a footstool for His feet.


The Global Jihad of the Islamic Nations is part of this opposition to Almighty God, and as such, despite the continuing deaths of so many, is doomed in the end to failure.


The following is what the Holy Bible says in Matthew Chapter 24 (NIV)

Signs of the End of the Age

1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,^a’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^b spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

26“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29“Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not give its light;

the stars will fall from the sky,

and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’^c

30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it^d is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth, this generation^e will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^fbut only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

On Our Faces and On Our Knees

“Don’t say your prayers! You must pray with all your might. That does not mean saying your prayers, or sitting gazing about in Church or chapel with eyes wide open while someone else says them for you. It means fervent, effectual, untiring wrestling with God…this kind of prayer be sure the devil and the world and your own indolent, unbelieving nature will oppose…”  –William Booth.

“…all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory” (Isaiah 45:24-25).

Be Prepared For An Emergency:

Recent events (i.e. the butchering of an Israeli family in Itamar, the bus stop bombing in Jerusalem at one of the busiest times of day and the unending cries, by the Palestinians and the entire Arab world, to save “Palestine” from the Jews) have proven that Israel may be on the edge of an emergency. As intercessors, it is our responsibility to recognize the harbingers before they happen! Israelis are bracing for a major war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Arabs are now planning their own Palestinian state and to top it all off, they have been propagating their “rush on Jerusalem” and possible dates of war on Facebook. As someone said “all they have on their minds is to kill the Jews (and then the Christians).” Facebook Intifada pages abound. As soon as the scandalous announcements about another “Intifada” on Israel are removed, new ones are launched. Reports circulate that hundreds of Facebook pages still exist. The message is the same: “Arabs worldwide must begin their Jihad (holy war) and killing Jews is praiseworthy.”

The Spirit Of Defiance:

Islam’s hideous threats and mockery of the Jewish people are unending and to say these types of people are “heartless” is to be kind. Gaddafi called for Arab refugees to “March on Israel.” He also called for the Muslim world to unite against the non-Muslim world. The “Western world,” including the United States and Europe, has gone on the attack against the Islamic world, he has said. Even Barghouti called for a march on Israel from his prison cell. Of course his statements make no sense but this is typical of the lies they spread. Iran is claiming it has advanced centrifuges in operation now so they are continuing in their pursuit for world domination. The spirit of defiance is unparalleled. Turkish IHH ill-fated anti-Israel ship convoy to Gaza are organizing another one – this time with an airplane. (See article by Hillel Fendel on Arutz Sheva News, 04/11/11).

March Of Return Scheduled For May 15, 2011.

According to Herman Wouk’s book The Hope, written in 1993, May 15, 1948, was the “long-fixed official date—the British mandate will end, the British government and army will pull out of Palestine, in toto, and a showdown is bound to explode. Five neighboring Arab countries are pledged to march their armies into Palestine on that selfsame day, to wipe out the Zionist entity in a week or two. The British Balfour Declaration, which encouraged Zionism, the Arabs have always considered a monstrous illegality, and this is their chance to reverse it” (Pg. 5, The Hope, 1993). On Independence Day, May 14, 1948, a nation was “born in a day” (Isaiah 66:8). It was a birth brought about by the Almighty in accordance with His Promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Israel’s forefathers. The first Intifada began on December 9, 1987, the second Al-Aqsa Intifada was underway in late September 2000, and according to a very popular Facebook page, the third coming of the violent Palestinian uprising is scheduled to kick off this year, on May 15 - the Palestinian Nakba Day and the anniversary of the establishment of Israel in 1948.

Israel has learned to live one day at a time and one fight at a time, but today the Arab world is armed to the teeth with lethal weaponry and Israel cannot afford a miscalculation. The Church cannot afford to miss this spiritual opportunity to push back the enemy, not only from the gates, but to be a Wall of spiritual protection shielding the Jewish state from any pre-emptive attack to start an Armageddon-type war.

Deception! The Immediate Coming Of The Islamic Messiah?

Reza Kahlili on March 29^th wrote, “several months ago I was informed by my contacts in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard that the Basij had started a project that had the approval of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The purpose of the project was to inform Muslims across the globe of the immediate coming of the last Islamic messiah. The Iranian leaders, now more than ever, feel that all the stars are aligned for such an event. Ever since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Islamic rulers of Iran have declared themselves representatives of God on Earth, believing their mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the last messiah, the Shiites 12^th Imam Mahdi… According to the Hadith in the age of The Coming, a revolution takes place in Iran. This is a key sign indicating that the reappearance is near…Based on this belief, the leaders of Iran see it as their duty to prepare the ground for The Coming. One of the most important events to securing the reappearance…is the annihilation of Israel and conquering Beitol Moghadas (Jerusalem). They state with conviction that Islam will soon conquer the world and all infidels will be destroyed…War, chaos, and lawlessness must engulf the world to pave the way for Imam Mahdi’s reappearance...” The deception lies in that they feel they are the righteous on the earth and all of us are the infidels and sinners.

As this movie is distributed throughout the Basij and Revolutionary Guards’ bases, their hope is to also distribute it throughout the entire Middle East. Their intention is to incite further uprisings with the hope of motivating Arabs to overthrow the US-backed governments with the final goal of the annihilation of Israel and Allah’s governance of the world! This movie can be viewed on Google at: Video: The Coming is Upon Us.

If my discernment and knowledge of the Bible are correct, this pushing forward the “appearance of the Mahdi war” is to prevent the appearance of the REAL MESSIAH! Islam (the basis of its teaching from satan’s deceptive lies) believes that if it destroys Israel, the real Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) will not return. We know He will come only to a Jewish Jerusalem and the Land will be in the hands of the Children of Israel. Somehow, we must pray that the back of Islam will be broken so that many disenchanted and disappointed hearts will look to the real One True God of Israel and Messiah, Jesus (Yeshua). Without a defeat, they will brag about “their” messiah. Let’s study God’s Word again, be certain of its promises and begin to pray His Word into being. This way we will be firmly fastened to the ROCK OF AGES, which will  never budge during the hard times ahead! Intercessors…it is time to pray!! Please, forward this all over the earth as the Church must arise and push back the battle away from the gates!

The world needs to know what acts are continually forced upon the Jewish state and need to raise voices in protest against the continual war of hatred against the Jewish people by Islam. Reports are that Iran’s fingerprints could be seen on the attack and this will increase. And so…Christians who love Israel awaken others to the necessity of unceasing prayer for the Jewish nation. Remember: if the tree falls so will the branches!! Facebook pages have been created calling for a third “Intifada” on Israel which actually means to take over Israel by force. The last Intifada resulted in 18 deadly terror bombings, and hundreds of innocent people were killed. As residents of Israel, we remember well those sad days and we launched a project “Under His Wings” to help terror attack victims in Israel (see below). The reason I choose to send another “alert update” now is to ask for fervent prayer and intercession from all lovers of Israel all over the earth.

Third Palestinian Intifada - الانتفاضة الفلسطينية الثالhttp://www.Facebook.com/Palestinian.Intifada