- April 14, 2026
- 5:14 pm
- Ukraine
On April 14, 2026, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman published an address for the Day of Catastrophe and Heroism of European Jewry. His words return to one of the most difficult and at the same time most courageous pages of Jewish history — the memory of six million Jews exterminated by Hitler’s Nazis, and the memory of the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto, which became a symbol of resistance where it seemed there were no chances left.
For the Israeli audience, this topic always goes far beyond the calendar date. Yom HaShoah is not just a day of remembrance of the past. It is a day when questions about vulnerability, the right to self-defense, the price of the world’s silence, and what happens when the Jewish people face an enemy openly speaking of their destruction, come to the forefront of public consciousness again.
That is why Moshe Asman’s current address sounds particularly poignant. He does not limit himself to recalling the tragedy and heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto. He draws a direct moral line from those days to the present time of war, when, in his words, the Jewish people once again hear threats of destruction — now from Iran and its proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. But in this parallel, there is a key difference: then the Jews were practically abandoned and defenseless, but today the Jewish people have the strength and readiness to defend themselves.
The Warsaw Ghetto as a symbol of courage, not just tragedy
In his address, Moshe Asman reminds us that it was during these days that the heroic Jewish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto began. There, Hitler’s Nazis herded about half a million Jews, condemned them to inhumane conditions, hunger, humiliation, and almost inevitable death. But even in such conditions, the Jews decided not to go silently to the end, but to fight.
This detail is especially important for understanding the very meaning of the Day of Catastrophe and Heroism. It is not only about the memory of the victims. It is also about the memory of those who, with minimal weapons, often obtained in battle, rose against one of the strongest armies of their time. They sent radio messages, asked for help, but the world almost did not respond.
The uprising lasted almost a month — from April 19 to May 16, 1943. Tanks were brought in against the insurgents, houses were destroyed, neighborhoods were burned with flamethrowers. But even in conditions of absolute inequality of forces, the Jews continued to resist to the last. And it is in this that Moshe Asman sees the historical nerve that remains alive today: courage is not measured by the chances of victory, it is measured by the willingness not to give up.
Why this memory is especially important for Israel
For Israel, the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto is not only part of the general memory of the Catastrophe. It is a fundamental lesson that without its own strength, the Jewish people too often found themselves one-on-one with the enemy and the indifference of the world.
When the Yom HaShoah siren sounds in Israel today, the country literally freezes for a few minutes. But along with the memory of the dead, there is always another feeling — the understanding that modern Jewish sovereignty was born not from an abstract idea, but from a terrible historical experience in which too many were not helped in time.
That is why the words about the uprising in the ghetto resonate so strongly in the Israeli context. It is a reminder that the heroism of the Jewish people did not begin after the creation of the state of Israel. It existed even when there were almost no chances, and the world preferred to look away.
From the memory of the Shoah to today’s war
The strongest part of Moshe Asman’s address begins where he transfers the conversation from 1943 to 2026. He writes that even today the Jewish people live in a difficult wartime, when there are again forces openly speaking of their desire to destroy them. In this context, he directly names Iran, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah.
For the Israeli reader, this does not sound like rhetorical exaggeration, but as a statement of the reality in which the country has been for a long time. Threats from Tehran, rocket terror, attacks by proxy structures, the language of destruction that regularly sounds towards Israel — all this makes the memory of the Shoah not only historical but also politically alive.
But Asman places the main emphasis on something else. Between then and now, he emphasizes, there is a huge difference. Today the Jewish people are not defenseless. Today they know how and are ready to defend themselves. In this phrase lies the entire modern meaning of Yom HaShoah for Israel: the memory of the Catastrophe should not lead to paralysis, it should strengthen the right to self-defense.
It is here that NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees the special importance of this address for the Israeli audience. The words of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine not only connect the tragedy of the past with the anxiety of the present. They formulate one of the main conclusions of Jewish history: memory without strength leaves the people vulnerable, and memory combined with the ability to defend becomes the foundation of national resilience.
Why this voice from Ukraine sounds especially weighty
There is another important layer. These words are spoken not by an outside commentator, but by the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine — a country where the memory of the Holocaust has special weight and where Jewish history is intertwined with tragedies, wars, and the struggle for survival.
Therefore, Moshe Asman’s address is read not as an abstract historical sermon. It is heard as the voice of a person who speaks about the memory of the Catastrophe at the moment of a new war, when the theme of protecting the people, freedom, and resistance again becomes not academic, but extremely concrete.
For Israel, this is also an important signal. Jewish memory does not belong to one country, even if Israel has become its main political and historical home. It continues to sound in the diaspora, in communities, and in the voices of those who speak of the Catastrophe not only as a past but as a moral guide in the present.
A day of remembrance that reminds of strength
The meaning of Moshe Asman’s words ultimately boils down to a very clear thought. The Day of Catastrophe and Heroism is a day of mourning for the murdered and a day of respect for those who fought in hopeless conditions. But it is also a day that reminds: the Jewish people should no longer be the object of someone else’s will and cruelty.
That is why in his address, the six million murdered, the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the confidence that today Jews are no longer defenseless stand side by side. These are not disparate themes. This is one line — from memory to determination, from tragedy to readiness to defend life.
And perhaps that is why the final words of such an address sound not like a formality, but as the conclusion of the entire historical logic. The memory of the dead should be blessed. And the Jewish people live. Am Yisrael Chai.