by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – As Israel prepares to observe Yom HaShoah—translated as “Day of the Holocaust” — new figures highlight both the enduring legacy and the rapidly declining number of those who survived one of history’s darkest atrocities.
According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, approximately 111,000 Holocaust survivors and victims of antisemitic persecution are currently living in Israel. Women comprise about 63% of this population, with most survivors now in their 80s and 90s, underscoring the urgency of preserving their testimonies for future generations.
Globally, the Jewish population stood at 15.8 million at the start of 2025. Of these, about 7.2 million—roughly 45%—reside in Israel, while 6.3 million live in the United States, reflecting the two largest centers of Jewish life in the world today.
The majority of Holocaust survivors in Israel, approximately 60.5%, were born in Europe, particularly in the former Soviet Union, Romania, and Poland. Others came from North Africa and the Middle East, including Morocco, Iraq, Tunisia, Libya, and Algeria. Waves of immigration tell the story of Israel itself: only about 6% arrived before the state’s founding in 1948, while roughly 30% came in the immediate aftermath of independence. Additional waves followed between 1952 and 1989, with nearly one-third arriving since the 1990s, largely from the former Soviet Union.
Today, about 95% of survivors live in urban areas, with 42% concentrated in major cities such as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv–Yafo, Haifa, Ashdod, Netanya, Petah Tikva, Beersheva, and Rishon Letzion.
Yom HaShoah was formally established in 1951 by the Israeli government and is observed on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. The date was chosen to fall near the anniversary of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, honoring not only the victims of the Holocaust but also the courage and resistance of those who fought back against Nazi oppression.
The day is marked across Israel with a solemn nationwide siren, during which the entire country comes to a standstill — cars stop in the middle of highways, and citizens pause in silence to remember the six million Jews who perished.
As Israel once again commemorates Yom HaShoah from Monday evening through Tuesday, the shrinking number of survivors serves as a powerful reminder: the responsibility to remember, to bear witness, and to ensure that such evil is never repeated now rests increasingly on future generations.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.