Holocaust survivors

"Every year, my wife and I make it a point to meet with the torchbearers," Netanyahu told the survivors. "It is an extraordinarily moving moment because you are giants of the spirit."

In 1939, on the eve of World War II, the global Jewish population was 16.6 million, of whom 449,000 (3%) lived in Israel.

To date, Yad Vashem has recognized around 30,000 Righteous Among the Nations.

Among the small group of elderly survivors, many of whom were children during WWII, ten were able to fly from Israel, despite Hezbollah still firing rockets at civilians.

According to the Aliyah Ministry, the decrease in immigration of Holocaust survivors is due to the increasing difficulty in moving to the country at an advanced age.

Abdol Hossein Sardari and Hajji Yaakov Hay remind us of the immense power of the individual in the face of darkness.

According to the ministry, roughly 1,500 of the cases concerned the realization of legal rights tied to stipends and grants available to Holocaust survivors, while about 1,000 involved civil matters.

HOLOCAUST AFFAIRS: This year, eight survivors will take part in key roles in the state ceremony on Monday evening at 8 p.m.

Over the past two and a half years, I’ve often turned to my pen. While so much has been rattled and shaken - writing became my way to make sense of it all, and a source of comfort.

A young Orthodox couple in Hungary exchanged messages that sustained them through forced labor, ghettos, brazen escapes, and months in hiding.