Israel stands still in nationwide moment of silence to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust

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Israelis ground to a halt for a nationwide moment of silence on Tuesday in remembrance of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust as a two-minute siren wailed across the country.

Vehicles and pedestrians halted on streets and highways as Israelis stood, heads bowed, in solemn remembrance for those systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators in World War II.

The somber day is also marked by ceremonies and memorials at schools and community centers. Restaurants and cafes shutter, and TV and radio stations play Holocaust-themed programs.

People walk along a bridge under a billboard showing a yellow Star of David that reads Jew in German during the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day in Ramat Gan, Israel, on April 18, 2023. Israel’s Day of Remembrance commemorates the six million Jewish victims who were killed by Nazi Germany. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

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A third of the world’s Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Israel was established in the aftermath in 1948, and hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to the Jewish state.

Official observances started Monday evening with a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem as six survivors, including one of the few remaining survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, lit torches for the memory of the 6 million killed.

Israel's figurehead president called for national unity after months of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's planned judicial overhaul that has divided the country.