Why I will not stand for Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day siren

A state that commits genocide cannot claim to honor the Holocaust. Each ceremony it holds in its name defiles the memory of the victims

Orly Noy

+972 Mag: April 13, 2026

Tomorrow, for the first time since I immigrated to Israel at the age of nine, I will not stand for the siren on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Across the country, a two-minute siren rings out on that day every year, bringing traffic to a halt and people into silent attention. Out of reverence for the victims of the most terrible tragedy in Jewish history, I can no longer take part in these state rituals. I refuse to join ceremonies conducted by a state that has become a kingdom of death — one whose entire essence desecrates the memory of the victims it claims to honor. the siren is a sound devoid of content, a mere ritual. Or worse: it is part of a well-oiled machine that turned the Holocaust into a propaganda tool designed to justify the most despicable of crimes. It is, actually, nothing more than a battle cry. 

It has long been clear to me that the memory of the Holocaust, as far as Israel is concerned, is no more than a manipulative tool that allows it to demand unlimited impunity. I have watched Israel host antisemites and war criminals at Yad Vashem, the state’s Holocaust museum, only to close lucrative arms deals with them soon after. In the same breath, it invokes the Holocaust to brutally silence any criticism of its crimes.

But after more than two and a half years of genocide in Gaza, of the systematic and calculated extermination of tens of thousands of people, and the conscious starvation of babies to death – carried out brazenly, with unconcealed joy, even pride – I can no longer convince myself of that separation. A state that commits genocide cannot meaningfully commemorate the Holocaust. Each ceremony it holds in its name defiles the memory of the victims.

This year, more than ever, we must insist on what the Israeli Holocaust industry is trying to erase from our consciousness: the universal lesson of the Holocaust, the only lesson worthy of taking from the tragedy of our people. 

ok.