Never Again is Now: Our Call to Action on Israel Holocaust Remembrance Day

A man in Tefillin standing in the destroyed Be'eri. Eight decades after the Holocaust, Jews are still under threat.

Every year on Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, sirens wail across the country and life pauses. Cars stop mid-highway. Shoppers freeze in place. A country united in memory stands still for a moment of silence to honor the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

But remembrance is not enough. Since October 7, “Never again” has become a hollow slogan. It must be more than just a vow to remember - it must be a call to action. And today, more than ever, it must be understood as urgent. Never again is not just a phrase about the past. Never again is now.

For centuries, the Jewish people were stateless, scattered, and scapegoated - expelled from lands, denied rights, and slaughtered in pogroms. The Holocaust was the horrific culmination of that long history of persecution: the systematic attempt to erase an entire people simply because of who they are.

Out of that darkness, the modern State of Israel was born - a democratic homeland for the Jewish people, a place where Jews could live freely, defend themselves, and determine their own destiny, alongside non-Jews who live as equal citizens.

Out of that darkness, the modern State of Israel was born - a democratic homeland for the Jewish people, a place where Jews could live freely, defend themselves, and determine their own destiny, alongside non-Jews who live as equal citizens. A place where we would never again be at the mercy of those who hate us. Before Israel is a fulfillment of Jewish sovereignty and self-determination, it is a shelter - a safe haven under the sky.

Yet here we are, eight decades later, and Jews are still under threat.

On the streets of too many American cities, and on too many American college campuses, we see denial - or even justification - of Jewish suffering, as well as calls to bring the Jewish homeland to an end (this is what “from the river to the sea” means). In Israel, Hamas and the Houthis fire rockets indiscriminately at civilians and celebrate the murder of Jewish families on October 7. Fifty-nine Israeli hostages are still held in captivity, denied basic human rights, starved, and beaten - bringing back to life the unspeakable realities of the Holocaust.

American Hostage Edan Alexander, in a video released by Hamas. Fifty-nine Israeli hostages are still held in captivity, denied basic human rights, starved, and beaten - bringing back to life the unspeakable realities of the Holocaust.

In far too many places, we hear silence. Worse, we hear excuses. “Never again” is being tested, and the world is failing the test. If you’ve ever wondered why Israelis are so obsessed with defense, this is why: the lesson of the Holocaust is not only compassion, but vigilance. Not only solidarity, but sovereignty. Israel exists because we learned, the hard way, that we must be able to protect our own.

“Never again” does not mean “never again to Jews only.” It means never again to racism. Never again to hatred. Never again to ideologies that dehumanize, scapegoat, or seek the expulsion or destruction of an entire people - any people.

However, let us be clear: “Never again” does not mean “never again to Jews only.” It is not a tribal slogan, but rather a universal promise. It means never again to racism. Never again to hatred. Never again to ideologies that dehumanize, scapegoat, or seek the expulsion or destruction of an entire people - any people.

That is why we, as Jews and Israelis, must be on the front lines of standing against antisemitism, yes - but also against racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, and xenophobia in all forms. We must speak out against authoritarianism, against ethnic cleansing, against genocide - from Myanmar to Sudan to Ukraine - and we especially must call out those among us who advocate for the forcible expulsion of Palestinians.

Because to honor the victims of the Holocaust is not only to remember how or why they died - it is to live by the lessons they left behind.

So on this Yom HaShoah, as the sirens fade, let us not go back to business as usual. Let us remember that “Never again” is a call to conscience, a call to courage - and a call to act.

Because never again is not just a memory.

Never again is now.