Madam Speaker,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of Knesset,
Distinguished Guests – Veterans, Fighters who have joined us on this special day,
Today we mark 62 years since the free world’s victory over Nazi Germany – the victory of humanity and human values over those who set the goal of conquering the world, and destroying the Jewish people and wiping it off the map.
May 9, 1945, the date on which Germany surrendered, was a day of tremendous victory – albeit a sad one. In his poem, “The Victory”, Alexander Penn wrote:
“The longed-for arrived – bleeding an exhausted smile
Its wounds exposed as the ruins of its cities
Between the exultation on the street I sink
In joy which bypasses its competitors.
The end was prophesied – calculated from the end to the beginning
But my people – your face is veiled
By a quiet and heart-breaking wisp of smoke.”
The smoke is that of the crematoria and the heart, in its pain, shatters the chest of those who grieve the deaths of six million who did not live to see the day of victory. When the liberating forces entered one of the death camps on German soil, they found a survivor who gave them a reprimanding look and said, “Now you come?”
Madam Speaker,
On this day, the day of victory over the Nazis – we salute those who freed the world from the nightmare in which it lived for six long years, millions of soldiers from the Allied Forces, who won, in a fateful campaign for the future of humanity, the heavy campaign with so many victims for the dignity of man and his freedom.
Alongside the forces who fought so selflessly against the Nazi human animals, were approximately one-and-a-half million of these heroes – the Jewish people – soldiers in the Allied armies, fighters in partisan units in the countries of Eastern Europe, and in the ranks of the anti-fascist underground in Western Europe and North Africa. Throughout the War – they fought for life and death. In the war against Nazism, the Jewish fighter fought not only for his life, but also for the life of the entire Jewish people. About one-quarter of one million Jewish fighters fell in battle. More than 200,000 won medals of valor and awards of excellence. They fought in every army along all fronts – and in all roles, including the most senior commands.
The awareness that the War was one for the fate of the Jewish people induced no less than 30,000 men and women out of 400,000 in the Jewish yishuv in the Land of Israel during World War II to volunteer for the ranks of the British Army, out of a desire to participate in the war effort. 5,500 of them fought in the framework of the Brigade which took part in the battles against the German divisions on Italian soil – and its men and women later embarked to save the remnants of the survivors across scorched Europe.
Today, I would like to mention two people from a long and impressive list of heroes:
The first is the commander of the Brigade on behalf of the Hagana, Major General Shlomo Shamir. In the IDF, Shlomo Shamir established the illustrious 7th Brigade, and commanded the Navy and the Air Force.
The second is the partisan Yitzhak (Tolka) Arad. Tolka was 16 when he, together with his friends, established an underground group in the Svencionys ghetto in Belorussia, and after they stole weapons from a German weapons store, they escaped into the woods and joined the partisans. As a partisan, Tolka participated in mining 16 German supply trains, and in scores of anti-Nazi strikes. With the arrival of the Red Army, Tolka was awarded a medal for his valor and courageous deeds as a partisan. Tolka hid the medal between two slices of bread, and made his way to the Land of Israel through the illegal immigration paths. He was a member of the Palmach, participated as a pilot, and later as demolitions officer in the Harel Brigade. He continued his military service and concluded as the Chief Education Officer of the IDF, with the rank of Brigadier General. Tolka, who served as the Chairman of the Board of Yad Vashem, and continues to research the Second World War and the Holocaust.
In the audience are other veterans – new immigrants and veteran, each deserving of our respect.
Madam Speaker,
Evil was defeated in a historic victory on May 9, 1945 – but it was not destroyed and did not depart from this world. Evil, racism, hatred of that which is foreign and different, anti-Semitism – all today threaten the well-being of humanity and its future. September 11, 2001 was just a worrying alarm as to what evil is capable of in its hatred of the free world and its values. The example of Nazi Germany proves how dangerous for humanity the combination of evil and advanced technological means can be. This is the reason why the entire enlightened world is currently making a serious effort to prevent evil regimes like Iran – which openly announces the need to destroy the State of Israel – from obtaining nuclear weapons. In this field, we cannot take any chances.
Madam Speaker, Members of Knesset,
The Day of Victory over Nazi Germany is a day of celebration for the human spirit and the power to overcome the violent and murderous tendencies within it. It is a day of celebration for democracy which, with all its weaknesses, eventually overcomes all tyranny. We bow our heads in memory of the millions of fighters who brought humanity its most precious victory, and did not live to see it come – and we salute the fighters who live among us for their heroism and their part in achieving this victory.
Further to previous Government Resolutions of 16.5.02 and of 9.5.04, in January 2007, the Government of Israel passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a commemoration site at Latrun in memory of the Jewish soldiers who fought in World War II. Its construction is expected to end in 2010.
The Prime Minister’s Office is assisting in the establishment of this important project, which will begin in the next few weeks, and hopefully will be finished on time.
Members of Knesset,
Many Holocaust survivors immigrated to Israel and built their new home here – in the State of Israel, the State of the Jews, which was established in no small measure because of them.
59 years after the establishment of the State – we must repent and acknowledge the existence of tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors in Israeli society living below the poverty line. For reasons of bureaucratic obtuseness, for long years they have never received from us the material support needed to ensure that they live in dignity.
On the eve of Holocaust Martyr’s and Hero’s Remembrance Day, I and the entire Government, clarified our clear and unequivocal stance. The Government directed the Minister of Social Affairs and Social Services to examine the matter urgently, in the framework of his ministry, and submit recommendations in order to allow the Holocaust survivors who live in Israel to live in dignity.
In the next few days, we will complete this process, adopt the decisions, determine the appropriate standards and will ensure that every one of the Holocaust survivors can live in dignity.
For this too, we have the duty to vow – never again. Thank you.