Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day: Memory, Loss, and Shared Resilience

In the weeks marking both Holocaust Remembrance Day and Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror, WIZO Israel held a series of meaningful events across the country, reflecting a continuum of memory, loss, and resilience.

At the World WIZO headquarters in Tel Aviv, a moving “Zikaron BaSalon” gathering took place, featuring a lecture by Dr. Len Losos, a second-generation Holocaust survivor, titled “Small Stories from Great Events.” Through the story of the Joffe family, who survived the Kovno Ghetto, the session explored themes of courage, loss, and the enduring power of memory.

Dozens of additional “Zikaron BaSalon” events and commemorative gatherings were held across WIZO Israel branches nationwide.

As part of this broader commitment to remembrance, WIZO Israel continued its national project “Women Speak Bereavement” for the fifth consecutive year, creating space for women’s voices within the collective experience of loss.

The project focuses on the unique experience of bereavement from a female perspective, amplifying the personal voices of women who have experienced loss during the Iron Swords War and previous conflicts in Israel.

Initiated by Ora Korazim, Chairperson of WIZO Israel, together with Ada Elbaz, a reserve casualty officer and regional coordinator, the project explores patterns of coping with bereavement across different sectors of Israeli society, while also examining how perceptions of loss have evolved over time.

As Korazim explains:

“The goal of this project is to express, in practice, the responsibility of Israeli society as a whole, and of WIZO in particular, toward women who have experienced loss. By sharing their personal pain and journeys of coping, these women both preserve the memory of their loved ones and give it a place within Israeli society. Through these events, we strive to reach a wide range of voices and perspectives: mothers, widows, including from the LGBTQ+ community, orphans, sisters, friends, commanders, and women from Druze, Bedouin, and other communities.”

This year, the project placed a special focus on bereaved sisters, highlighting a perspective that is often less visible within public discourse.

A central event held at the World WIZO headquarters in Tel Aviv brought together three bereaved sisters from different generations, each sharing a deeply personal story shaped by loss, identity, and the ongoing journey of life after tragedy.

Their stories reflected not only the moment of loss, but also the long and complex path that follows, and the place of sisters within both the family and national narrative.

Alongside the discussion, the photography exhibition “Seeing the Light” by Bruria Miruz, mother of Sgt. First Class Guy Miruz z”l, was presented, highlighting the gap between public remembrance and the ongoing, everyday reality of grief.

Events within the “Women Speak Bereavement” project are taking place across WIZO Israel branches nationwide, including Be’er Sheva, Rehovot, Azor, Ness Ziona, Hod Hasharon, Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat, and more.

Through these initiatives, WIZO continues to create meaningful spaces for remembrance, dialogue, and shared resilience, ensuring that personal stories remain an integral part of Israel’s collective memory.