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Jewish Red Army Vets Honored at UN; “Rescue Day of European Jewry” Inaugurated

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The proud assemblage of Jewish Red Army veterans who were honored at the United Nations for their valiant service during World War II.  A new Jewish holiday celebrating the rescue of European Jewry in 1945 was ushered in. (Photo Credit: Shahar Azran)
The proud assemblage of Jewish Red Army veterans who were honored at the United Nations for their valiant service during World War II. A new Jewish holiday celebrating the rescue of European Jewry in 1945 was ushered in. (Photo Credit: Shahar Azran)
At UN, Jewish Russian WWII veterans, Israeli and Russian-Jewish officials announced global Jewish observance of European Jews’ rescue

Local Jewish veterans of the Soviet Red Army, representatives of the Israeli government, and Jewish community dignitaries convened at the United Nations on Wednesday, May 21st to usher in a new Jewish holiday celebrating the rescue of European Jewry in 1945.

Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Faina Kirschenbaum, the President of the American Forum of Russian Speaking Jewry, Dr. Igor Branovan, and hundreds of New York-area Red Army Jewish veterans wearing their World War II regalia gathered to celebrate and officially announce the new Jewish observance. Among the new holiday’s advocates is Russian-Jewish leader German Zakharyaev, president of the STMEGI foundation.

In recent months, the Russian-Jewish community, led by Zakharyaev, turned to Jewish communities around the world to call for a wider, global Jewish recognition of the rescue of European Jewry. The community joined forces with the American Forum of Russian Speaking Jewry, and won the support of others, including Keren Hayesod-United Israel Appeal, World Zionist Organization (WZO), the Israeli government, Israel’s chief rabbis and chief rabbis from Europe.

Perhaps the most important holiday in Russia, “Victory Day” on May 9 is also celebrated around the world in countries with major Russian émigré populations, including in Israel, where Jewish immigrants who served in the Red Army proudly march in their military finery. With more than 1.6 million Jews from the FSU, Israel officially recognized the holiday in 2000.

To mark the liberation of European Jewry from the Nazis, the new holiday’s supporters chose the Hebrew date of Iyar 26, which marks May 9, 1945 – to be called “Rescue Day of European Jewry.” That Hebrew date falls this year on May 26. The Israeli officials and communal groups convened at the UN to formally announce the new global Jewish holiday, prior to the Memorial Day weekend.

“As Jews we are proud to gather at the UN for this historic celebration honoring a great victory over evil,” said Zakharyaev. “While it’s important to remember the Holocaust’s end, we must still remain vigilant even today, as the Jewish communities throughout the FSU feel insecure amid instability in Ukraine.”

Bestowing the highest honors on the Jewish soldiers who served valiantly in the Red Army during World War II was Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor who said, “Sixty-nine years ago, the roar of the guns fell quiet over Europe, as the Second World War came to a close. And though today we mark this anniversary as a celebration of this victory, we also mark this day as a celebration of all those who made this victory possible.”

The audience was clearly choked with palpable emotions as tears came to their eyes when Mr. Prosor told the Red Army veterans and their families, “You faced the harsh forces of nature. You looked the brutal enemy in the eye. You pushed forward to conquer Berlin and halted the Nazi advancement. You and your comrades fought so that peoples and nations could live in freedom. When history and circumstance called for bravery, you answered the call. Today the nations of the world must follow in your footsteps. They must answer the call – the universal call to fight for freedom today so that we may enjoy peace tomorrow.”

Mr. Prosor then recalled a state visit to Israel by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the period he was working in the government of the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “During his stay in Israel, the only time I saw President Putin display emotion – emotion that was visible in his eyes, in his face, and in his body language – was when he met with Russian Jewish veterans of the Second World War, “ he said.

“Courage, resilience, and the ability to overcome impossible odds,” Mr. Prosor said were the attributes that the Jewish Red Army veterans possessed and that they “embodied everything that we Israelis cherish.”

He added that, “The Lubavitcher Rebbe once said that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide. You – the veterans of history’s darkest hour – were its brightest lights.”

In a private interview with The Jewish Voice, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Faina Kirschenbaum of the Israel Beyteinu party said, “We have undertaken this unique initiative in order to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust and its victims. It is incumbent upon us to educate a new generations about the horrors of the Holocaust. Most young people are not even tangentially acquainted with Holocaust history while others remain aloof and indifferent to its impact and consequences for future generations.”

Focusing on the importance of enshrining the “Rescue Day of European Jewry” in the calendar for posterity, Ms. Kirschenbaum intoned, “If this day is not included in our calendar, if the significance of this day is not emblazoned in our collective consciences, then its meaning will be lost.”

She added that, “There were a half a million Jewish soldiers in the allied forces and 120,000 veterans didn’t understand why they were fighting. We must understand that we are now a free Jewish nation and with the date of the 26th of Iyar marked on our calendars, we will celebrate this victory; we will talk about it with our children and grandchildren, and we will include this date and everything that it symbolizes in the miraculous narrative of Jewish history.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony held at the delegates dining room at the United Nations, the iconic song, “Yerushalayim Shel Zahav” (Jerusalem of Gold) was sung in both Hebrew and Russian as the audience joined in.

“This song was extremely popular during the time of the six day war in June of 1967,” said Anna Kolmiansky, formerly of Odessa. “The lyrics remind me of why our people fought for liberation during World War II and why our destiny is so tightly bound to that of the State of Israel.”

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