Ceremony held near Jerusalem to honor 13 who rescued other Jews from Nazi atrocities

A mix of soldiers, Holocaust survivors and diplomats are gathered outside of Jerusalem to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day and recognize Jewish heroes who rescued other Jews during the Holocaust.

The ceremony, held jointly by B’nai B’rith World Center and Keren Kayemet Leyisrael – Jewish National Fund, will see 13 people honored with the “Jewish Rescuers Citation” for their efforts to rescue other Jews from Nazi atrocities.

“Jews rescuing Jews continues to this very day, [but] we are still yearning for the day we won’t need this resourcefulness and heroism,” says Dr. Haim Katz, chairman of the B’nai B’rith World Center.

The ceremony is being held in “Martyrs Forest,” a woodland planted by the KKL-JNF, which contains six million trees in remembrance of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

Sergio Barbanti, Italy’s ambassador to Israel, addresses the crowd, comparing the Hamas October 7 massacre to the horrors of the Holocaust.

“Raising our voices to say never again is more necessary today than ever,” he says. “The ferocious antisemitic massacre of October 7 represented the darkest page for the people of Israel since its foundation.”

Italian ambassador to Israel Sergio Barbanti addresses the crowd in Martyrs Forest outside Jerusalem during a Yom Hashoah ceremony on May 6, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)