Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025

I would like to share with you all the Command of the day by the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, marking Holocaust Remembrance Day—

Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025

Service members of the IDF, commanders and warriors ,

Eighty years have passed since the echoes of war faded, since survivors stood on the blood-soaked soil of Europe, the screams of their dead brothers and sisters resonating in their ears.

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, we stand united, embracing the memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazi oppressor. We pledge to remember and never to forget.

We commemorate the stories of terror and destruction, the faces and the names –lives cut short. We shall not forget the children, viciously torn from their families, the desperate reach of a mother’s empty arms and the marches which led toward the unknown. We will remember the women and men transported in the train cars of death, those who held hands until their dying breaths, and the ones who whispered a silent prayer wishing for a miracle.

We shall also etch in our hearts the valor of the Jewish fighters of the ghetto uprisings, who were surrounded by ashes and devastation and chose to hold their heads high and fight back. We continue to tell the stories of courageous partisans and proudly cherish their resolve to build and bring forth the resurrection of the Jewish nation in its homeland .

Even now, the battle for our freedom and security persists. For over 18 months, we have been at war against a heinous foe who seeks our annihilation. Yet we are no longer a defenseless nation at the mercy of others. We have an independent country and a military, with soldiers and commanders who are committed to fight and triumph. This is a relentless war for our right to be free in our own country.

We continue to fight also for the victims who perished in the Holocaust, those whose identities and entire communities were erased or reduced to a memory, those who longed for freedom yet did not receive it .

Soldiers and commanders of the IDF,

From that inferno arose figures of exemplary character, the pillars of our society. Out of ruins, they built a home for our nation .

We who continue their legacy, stand tall in defense of our country. Upon our shoulders rests a sacred duty to fulfill our calling and provide the citizens of the State of Israel with safety and security, while at the same time preserve the memory of the Holocaust as testament and legacy for future generations .

May their memory be a blessing.

LTG Eyal Zamir

Chief of the General Staff