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Israel comes to a standstill for Holocaust Day

An Israeli Holocaust survivor waits before the wreath laying ceremony marking the annual Holocaust remembrance day at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Sirens sounded across Israel yesterday morning, bringing life to a standstill as millions of Israelis observed a moment of silence to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

The two-minute siren at 10am is an annual tradition that marks Israel's Holocaust remembrance day, which began on Sunday evening and ended at sundown yesterday.

Pedestrians froze in their tracks, buses stopped on busy streets and cars on major highways pulled over as the country paused to pay respect to the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis.

All day, TV stations devoted their broadcasts to historical documentaries and movies, and radio stations played somber music and interviews with survivors.

At a ceremony on Sunday at Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial and museum, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel would be celebrating its 59th independence day next week.

"The renewal of the Jewish people, its shaking off the ashes of the Holocaust for a new life and national rebirth in its historic birthplace, is the pinnacle of its victory," he said.

Sunday's ceremony threatened to cause a diplomatic flap between Israel and the Vatican, after the Roman Catholic church's envoy to Israel said he would boycott the event because of a caption at the museum describing the wartime conduct of Pope Pius XII.

But hours before the ceremony started, Monsignor Antonio Franco reversed his decision, averting what could have been a blow to a fragile relationship.

Israel and the Vatican established diplomatic relations in 1993, after hundreds of years of painful relations between Catholicism and Judaism.

Though ties have warmed considerably in recent years, many sensitive issues remain unresolved, including the Vatican's actions during the Nazi genocide.

The caption next to the picture of Pius in Yad Vashem's museum reads: "even when reports about the murder of Jews reached the Vatican, the pope did not protest," refusing to sign a 1942 Allied condemnation of the massacre of Jews.

Pius "maintained his neutral position" with two exceptions, the caption says, criticizing "his silence and absence of guidelines."

The exceptions were appeals to the rulers of Hungary and Slovakia toward the end of the war.

Yad Vashem spokeswoman Iris Rosenberg said the Holocaust museum and memorial appreciated Franco's decision, calling it "the right thing to do."

"Yad Vashem believes that it was inappropriate to link an issue of historical research with commemoration of the victims of the Holocaust," she said.

The disputed photo caption first appeared in 2005, when Yad Vashem opened its new museum. Shortly after, the previous Vatican ambassador asked that the caption be changed.

Yad Vashem has not done so, insisting its research on the pope's role was accurate.
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