The annual Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) ceremony memorializing Jews who were murdered in anti-Semitic attacks around the world, along with fallen Israeli servicemen and women and Israeli victims of terror, will take place this Monday, May 1, at 9 AM, at the plaza of the Jewish Agency headquarters building in Jerusalem, 48 King George Street.
This year’s ceremony will center on the victims of terror attacks that have taken place in Belgium over the years, including Professor Joseph Wybran, a world-renowned immunologist, a peace activist and a leader of the Belgian Jewish community, who was murdered in 1989; and Mira and Emmanuel Riva, the Israeli couple killed in the terror attack at the Jewish Museum of Brussels in 2014.
Wybran’s widow and her son will participate in the ceremony, as will Mira and Emmanuel Riva’s daughters, Mira’s siblings, and Emmanuel’s twin brother.
According to Jewish Agency data, some 200 Jews have been murdered in anti-Semitic attacks around the world since Israel’s establishment in 1948. Their names appear on a memorial display that will be placed in the plaza for the duration of the ceremony.
The ceremony will be attended by Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky, Ambassador of Belgium to Israel Olivier Belle, Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Avraham Duvdevani, Chairman of the KKL-JNF Board of Directors Danny Atar, JFNA Senior Vice President for Global Operations and Director General of the JFNA Israel Office Rebecca Caspi, Director General of the JFC-UIA Israel Office Yossi Tanuri, CEO and Director General of The Jewish Agency for Israel Alan Hoffmann, and representatives of the Belgian immigrant community in Israel.
The ceremony is being hosted by The Jewish Agency for Israel in partnership with the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF), Keren Hayesod-UIA, The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), and Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA (JFC-UIA).
