Yesterday marked Yom HaShoah Ve’Hagvura, or Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Day. What’s especially important in this holiday is the second part of its name, Hagvura, or Heroism. This is because especially in America, the Holocaust is regarded simply as a tragedy, an example of how 11 million people (6 million of whom were Jews) perished because no one came to their rescue. This is drastically different than in Israel, where the heroes of the Holocaust are remembered, those who stood up against the Nazis, such as the partisan fighters and the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. According to the Israelis, those who perished in the Holocaust did not die like victims, as the American psyche suggests, but as fighters against ruthless oppression. This is even shown in the Holocaust museums of Israel and the United States. The Holocaust museums in New York and Washington, D.C. tell about how the Jews were victims and were murdered by the Nazis. Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum, shows that too, but also honors those who resisted, those who defied the Jewish stereotype and fought the Nazis.
On Yom HaShoah, we must remember not only those who perished, but also those who fought back. This part of the essential act to zachor, to remember. The second meaning of zachor is to remember peoples identities of those who perished. This done by people switching off, day and night, to read all six million names of those who were killed by the Nazis. By saying the names of these people, we allow them to live again through their identity, if only for a few seconds. The Nazis turned people into numbers, and we can bring them back to life again.
The third meaning of zachor is the phrase “Never Again,” which means that we will never again let an atrocity like this happen again. But Never Again has happened again. In Armenia, Bosnia, Rwanda, and now Darfur, millions people have died as a result of genocide.
Today is the day after. It’s the day after mourning, after remembering. The day after the past becomes now, the present. Now is the time to stop the current genocide in Darfur. To do so, you can write a letter to President Bush, donate money to the cause in Darfur, or just become aware. Part of the reason the Holocaust happened was because most of the world just wasn’t aware of it. But tomorrow is the day after the day after. It’s the future. It’s Free Cone Day. It may stop raining in New York. It could be a happy day — but only if you make it like that. So, when you remember the victims of the Shoah, always remember to look not just towards the past, but also the present and future.
Aaron Freedman is a 16 year old who's very passionate and knowledgeable about technology and journalism. He enjoys working on his two main projects, 
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