Holocaust Survivors Light Memorial Torch, Lift Prayers for Hostages in Yad Vashem Tribute

At a solemn and emotional ceremony in Jerusalem, Holocaust survivor Gad Fartouk, 93, lit one of six memorial torches at Yad Vashem on Wednesday night, as Israel marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Before lighting the torch, Fartouk paused for a heartfelt prayer: “May all the hostages come home soon. Amen.” His words echoed the national anguish still felt across Israel after the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, and the ongoing captivity of Israeli hostages.

Born in 1931 in Nabeul, Tunisia, Fartouk grew up in a peaceful Jewish-Arab community. That peace was shattered in 1942 during the Nazi occupation, when his father was arrested following Shabbat services. The family fled, living under false identities. Fartouk’s mother died during the war, and the family endured hunger, fear, and separation until the Nazis retreated in 1943.

In 1948, he immigrated to Israel, co-founding Kibbutz Karmia and later becoming a photographer in Ashkelon. With his late wife, Mona, he built a large family a personal act of triumph over the Nazi attempt to erase Jewish life.

This year’s national ceremony was themed: “In Their Deaths, They Commanded Us to Live: Bearing Witness, Remembering, and Rebuilding.”

Fartouk was joined by five other survivors chosen to light memorial torches: Rachel Katz, Arie Reiter, Felix Sorin, Monika Barzel, and Arie Durst each a living testament to the endurance of the Jewish people.

President Isaac Herzog addressed the ceremony with unwavering resolve “From this mountain of memory, Yad Vashem, we declare We will not forget, we will not forgive and we will not remain silent. Not in the face of Hamas, not in the face of Iran, and not in the face of those who wish us harm whether with missiles, machetes, or lies.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a direct line between past and present: “Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were defenseless. Today, we are no longer helpless. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, and we will do whatever is necessary to return our hostages and defeat our enemies.”

The ceremony served not only as a remembrance of past horrors but as a reaffirmation of Israel’s commitment to life, unity, and survival.

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