“We carry the legacy of a people who chose life. It is now our turn to be a link in the chain of defenders.”

Today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, before the sound of the siren echoes across the country, we gather together, as one nation and one army, to honor the memory of the six million members of our people who were murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis and their collaborators.

“The world will know that there are still Jews alive…” promised Tuvia Bielski, one of the leaders of the well-known partisan group.

Amid the cries of children, the sobs of mothers, and the sounds of gunfire and terror, Bielski’s words–and the promise of the partisans–echoed in many hearts, becoming a symbol of hope and courage. They expressed an unyielding human spirit, a spirit that refuses to bow its head, refuses to surrender to the horrors of the Nazi oppressor, and chooses to hold on to life even in the deepest darkness.

We remember the communities that were erased from the face of the earth; the voices of children, women and men, the elderly and the young, who were led to the crematoria and shot in killing pits. We remember the partisans and underground fighters who resisted and rose up even when all hope seemed lost. We remember acts of bravery, resistance, and defiance; the preservation of Jewish identity in the face of efforts to erase it; the final embraces and parting words that were seared into memory and became a living legacy.

From the ashes, the loss, and the devastation, a clear cry emerged: to be a free people in our land. Holocaust survivors longed for a state. They rose and built it with their bare hands and deep faith. Since its establishment, the State of Israel has faced real existential threats from cruel enemies seeking to undermine our resilience, break our spirit, and destroy our people.

On October 7, our brutal enemies attacked the State of Israel and sought to carry out this threat. Since then, for more than two years, the IDF has been operating continuously in a decisive campaign to remove existential threats, significantly weaken our enemies, and strengthen the security of the State of Israel.

Guided by the lessons of Jewish history–that when our existence is threatened, we must take our fate into our own hands–the IDF has acted with determination and strength against Iran and its proxies. We have struck back at those who, for decades, have called for the destruction of our state and its erasure from the Middle East. This is an unprecedented, multi-front war, whose acts of bravery will be etched into the history of the State of Israel.

We carry with us the memory of the brave men and women who fell in defense of the homeland, and we are committed to standing by their families and supporting the wounded, both in body and in spirit, on their path to recovery.

Today, rising from even the harshest adversity, the Jewish people stand alive, free, and sovereign in their land. This is our clear answer to the world: no longer a people dependent on the mercy of others, no longer a people without defense–but a free nation in its land, fighting for its freedom and its future.

My soldiers, we who wear the uniform of the IDF carry a legacy passed down from generation to generation–a legacy of a spirit that refuses to break, of a people who chose life and freedom even in their darkest hours. Now it is our turn to be a vital link in the chain of defenders who came before us; to stand guard over our homeland, protect our home, and ensure that the memory of the past guides our path–and that it will never happen again.

May the memory of the victims be blessed.