Dear Friends of the AMI Center,

We are in the midst of three very important days for the people of Israel. First was the Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 14, 2026; second is the Israeli Memorial Day on April 21st, and the third is Israel’s Independence Day on April 22nd. These dates are set each year based on the Hebrew calendar, so each of the days begins the evening before and their dates vary from year to year on the Gregorian calendar.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

The Holocaust Remembrance (or Memorial) Day is a National Day of Remembrance observed every year on the 27th of Nisan and is dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, perpetrated by the Nazis and their accomplices against the Jewish people in the years 1933-1945. This is not to be confused with the International Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on January 27th each year on the date the Soviet army liberated the Auschwitz death camp. In Israel in the evening before the Holocaust Remembrance Day at 8 PM there is a large ceremony at the Warsaw Ghetto Plaza at Yad Vashem attended by the prime minister and Holocaust survivors. Six torches are carried by Holocaust survivors who light memorial flames in memory of the six million victims. On Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 14th) at 10 AM in the morning, sirens were sounded all over Israel marking the beginning of 2 minutes of silence showing unity and a time to remember. All work was suspended, meetings paused, and all traffic on all roads ceased. Cars even on highways pulled over and stopped. All flags were lowered to half mast, some businesses closed, and many memorial events took place. Shlomo told me that no one can truly understand the Jewish people until they visit the Holocaust camps in Poland and see the well documented atrocities which took place. With his encouragement I led a group to Poland and will never forget what I witnessed of the horror that took place, why this day of remembrance is so important, and why the world must never forget what happened.

Memorial Day

Seven days later is Israel’s Memorial Day which is the National Day of Remembrance to honor the fallen both in Israel’s armed forces and those who fell because of terrorism. At 8 in the evening of April 20th, sirens sound and there is one minute of silence marking the beginning of the Day of Remembrance where the entire country comes to a standstill and flags are lowered to half-mast. Following the siren a large state ceremony is held at the Western Wall Square in Jerusalem attended by the President of Israel. Many light a memorial candle in their homes for the entire day. The names of the fallen are projected onto the façade of the Knesset and on the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem. The following morning at 11 AM, sirens sound again, and all of Israel again comes to a standstill, stopping all traffic, meetings, business, etc. Prayers are said in synagogues and ceremonies are held to honor the fallen.

Israel’s Independence Day

On the evening of the Memorial Day there is a torch lighting ceremony held at the Memorial Hall on Mount Herzl which concludes the Memorial Day events and begins the Independence Day celebrations. The speaker of the Knesset attends and the Israeli flag is raised to the top of the pole thus officially beginning Independence Day which celebrates the establishment of the State of Israel. Many celebrations will follow on April 22nd, and the joy, thankfulness, and national spirit of the Jewish people is wonderful to witness if you can be in Jerusalem on Independence Day. I have had the privilege to participate in these celebrations as well as seeing the “flyover” of Air Force aircraft over the city of Jerusalem and feeling the excitement of a reborn nation of Israel.

I think the order of these three days is important, going from the devastation of the Holocaust, to remembering those who have fallen fighting for and defending the State of Israel, to celebrating the rebirth of Israel as foretold by the Word of God. It leads us to the hope that is part of the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah” or The Hope. The second verse says, “Our hope is not yet lost, the hope that is two-thousand years old, to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem”. This hope is still fresh and alive today within the hearts of the people of Israel.

God bless each one as we stand with the Jewish people during this time.

Bruce Larson