Spring is upon us, and this April is blooming with Jewish holidays. Along with the arrival of April showers come a few days of remembrance and celebration, aka Yoms.
Here is a brief guide to Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut.
Yom Hashoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day
Yom Hashoah 2023 begins at sundown on Monday, April 17 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, April 18. Yom Hashoah is the internationally recognized remembrance day for the 6 million Jews who perished in the Shoah, or Holocaust. It falls on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, a date selected by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) to commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, when Jewish resistance fighters defied the Nazis and fought for freedom. Shoah means "catastrophe" or "utter destruction" in Hebrew and specifically refers to the genocide of the Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Yom Hazikaron - Israeli Memorial Day
Yom Hazikaron 2023 begins at sundown on Monday, April 24 and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, April 25. Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s national day of mourning to honor all the soldiers and people who lost their lives defending the State of Israel. The remembrance day, which always takes place on the day preceding Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, was established by the Knesset and enacted into law in 1963.
Yom Ha'atzmaut - Israel Independence Day
Yom Ha’atzmaut 2023, marking Israel's 75th anniversary, begins at sundown on Tuesday, April 25 and ends at nightfall on Wednesday, April 26. Yom Ha'atzmaut is a joyous celebration of the establishment of the modern State of Israel. It is observed on the fifth day of Iyar on the Hebrew calendar, the anniversary of the day (corresponding to May 14, 1948) a provisional government publicly read and signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Yom Ha'atzmaut immediately follows Yom Hazikaron, reminding Israelis of those who sacrificed their lives for independence.
Yom Yerushalayim - Jerusalem Day
This Yom arrives in May, commemorating the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty in 1967. On Yom Yerushalayim, Hadassah celebrates the reunification of East and West Jerusalem and Hadassah’s two hospitals, Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, which is in West Jerusalem, and Hadassah Hospital Mount Scopus, which is in East Jerusalem. Yom Yerushalayim 2023 begins at sundown on Thursday, May 18 and ends at nightfall on Friday, May 19.
Celebrate Israel's 75th anniversary with us, as part of Hadassah & Israel — Together at 75.