Victory Day was commemorated in Israel on May 8. This national day of remembrance and celebration marks Nazi Germany’s surrender and the end of the war in Europe in 1945. Each year, the northern city of Migdal HaEmek holds a special ceremony to honor the occasion. Staff member Racheli Muler attended the event on behalf of The Fellowship and our donors for the 12th consecutive year, joining in prayers of gratitude for those who fell in battle and songs honoring the heroism of the veterans in attendance.
The ceremony was also attended by Migdal HaEmek Mayor Yaki Ben Chaim, Deputy Mayor Sergey Oaklander, local council members, the municipality’s CEO, representatives of organizations, residents, and family members of veterans who fought bravely against Nazi Germany during World War II.
About 1.5 million Jews served in the armies that fought against the Nazis, including nearly 500,000 soldiers and officers in the Soviet Army. More than 200,000 Jewish soldiers in the Soviet Army lost their lives in battles to liberate and save the Jewish people.
In the 1990s, about 20,000 of these Jewish veterans made aliyah from the former Soviet Union. Today, many of The Fellowship’s elderly beneficiaries in our With Dignity and Fellowship program are family members of these individuals, who moved to their biblical homeland in search of a better life. Sadly, very few of the veterans who arrived in the 1990s are still alive today. However, Migdal HaEmek remains home to one 101-year-old veteran who currently resides in a nursing home.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).
