Holocaust Remembrance Day

Floor Speech

Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, yesterday morning the State of Israel came to a standstill as a siren signaling one minute of silence pierced through the daily lives of Israelis. For one minute, highways came to a stand-still and phone conversations fell silent. This moment of silent reflection occurs every year on Yom Hashoa, Holocaust Remembrance Day, in order to honor the memory of the six million Jews systematically murdered at the hands of the Nazis.

Yom Hashoa serves as more than just a day of remembrance, though. Each passing year the remaining number of survivors becomes fewer and fewer. South Florida has seen this first hand. Just last month, Holocaust Survivors of South Florida--once one of the nation's largest survivor groups with a peak membership at over 1,400 survivors--was forced to close its doors due to a rapidly dwindling number of members.

At its final board meeting, the group gave $15,000 to the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, highlighting the importance of teaching the lessons of the Holocaust to our future generations. The organization's president expressed her hope ``that through education, history would not repeat.''

So today, I commit myself to learning the lessons of the past. I join my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives by honoring the living memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Together, we will stand against any resurgence of anti-Semitism, and against all forms of hatred and prejudice.

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