Sirens wail as Israel stands still for Holocaust remembrance

Handmade boats with the names of Nazi concentration camps float in a lake during ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Israel marking the annual Day of Remembrance for the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide who perished during World War II. Hebrew reads "to remember". (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

JERUSALEM – Israelis are standing still for a nationwide moment of silence in remembrance of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

A two-minute siren wailed across the country on Thursday for Israel's annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, when Israelis pay respects to those systematically killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators in World War II.

Buses and cars halted on streets and highways as Israelis stepped out of their vehicles and stood with heads bowed.

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

A third of the world's Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Israel was established afterward in 1948 and hundreds of thousands of survivors fled there.