The Day of Salvation and Liberation - 2020

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     The Day of Salvation and Liberation of European Jews from the Nazis (26 Iyar) established in honor of the surrender of Nazi Germany and the liberation of European Jewry, as well as in memory of the soldiers who fell in the fight against the Nazis, has been celebrated for the seventh time in Israel and around the world under the guidance of the Council of Rabbis of Europe.
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     By tradition, commemorative events dedicated to the Day of Salvation and Liberation began with a collective prayer at the Kosel, which was led by the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv Harav Yisrael Meir Lau, who also told his own story. Other Rabbanim, the Israeli ambassadors to the U.N. and Russia and the heads of Jewish organizations around the world also took part in the event. The prayer participants thanked Hashem, “who saved us from the hands of the enemy.”
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     In total, about 150 Chief Rabbis and presidents of rabbinical courts from twenty countries of the world took part in the prayer, including Russia, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, France, Great Britain, USA, Switzerland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Belgium, Tunisia and Turkey.
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     Earlier that morning, Rabbi Haim Corsia held a prayer marking the “Day of Liberation and Rescue” with the participation of about 100 French Rabbis.
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     The ceremony at the Kosel was opened by Harav Yisrael Meir Lau, who thanked Hashem for saving us, and blessed the initiative of Mr. German Zakharyayev to celebrate the miracle of salvation. “Even after 75 years I remember well how I was rescued in the Buchenwald camp. And I want the world to remember and understand. About 80 years ago the world was divided into four groups. The first one were humiliated killers and collaborators with the Nazi beast. The second were Jews, victims. The third, the world that knew about the “Final Solution” and did not do anything to prevent it. And the forth group were those who opposed the Nazi plans.
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     “We will never forget the soldiers of the Allied armies and the Red Army, which released Auschwitz, as well as about a quarter of a million soldiers, our brothers, Jewish people, who went out and did not return.”
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     White House Representative and the Chairman of the U.S. Heritage Preservation Committee Mr. Paul Packer said President Trump sends a warm greeting to European Rabbis and to the initiator of this commemoration day, whom he called “Angel Gabriel.”
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     In his address to the participants in the prayer, Mr. Zakharyaev thanked the Rabbis of Europe for their support of this initiative and called to remember everyone’s duty to constantly praise the Almighty, to remember his mercy and to increase his glory by prayers, charity, the introduction of the Torah scrolls and the study of its provisions, which corresponds to a centuries-old Jewish tradition.
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