Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel

Yom Hashoah, Remembrance Day for Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes, began in dramatic fashion on Sunday night in Israel as Holocaust survivors lit six torches representing the 6 million Jews killed in the Shoah.

With more than 200,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel, Yom Hashoah in the Jewish state, takes on even more significance.

"Israel is the historical commemoration to the victims of the Holocaust," President Shimon Peres said during the Yad Vashem ceremony. "The Shoah finally established that there is no substitute for a homeland of our own. There is no replacement for the Israel Defense Forces.

"Today we have established our own homeland. Today we have an excellent army that has gained the respect of the world. We have a democratic regime that can protect as necessary and pursue peace as needed. This is the answer to an enemy, every enemy. Israel is the historical commemoration to the victims of the Holocaust," added Peres.

At a Cabinet meeting held Sunday morning, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu addressed remembrance day.

"The important question that must be asked today is, have we learned the lessons of the Holocaust in the world?" he asked. "And to our great regret, the answer is no. A renewed anti-Semitism is spreading. Various forces are joining together and flooding the world with anti-Semitism. The hatred of Jews and the denial of their existence have turned into hatred of the Jewish state and denial of its existence."