The ceremony took place at the Polonsky Auditorium at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and opened with the nationwide siren at 10:00 a.m.
Held each year, the ceremony highlights the stories of hundreds of Jews who acted with extraordinary courage to rescue members of their own people—often at great personal risk and sometimes at the cost of their lives. To date, hundreds of rescuers have been recognized as part of this initiative, which seeks to correct the misconception that Jews did not come to the aid of one another during the Holocaust.
Photo: Amos Luzon Photography, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
Among the speakers were Marriët Schuurman, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Israel; Sar-Shalom Gerbi, Head of the Education Division at KKL–JNF; Dr. Haim Katz, Chairman of the B’nai B’rith World Center–Jerusalem; and Moshe Shapira, father of Aner Shapira z”l, the hero of the shelter in Re’im, and grandson of Jewish rescuer and former MP Haim-Moshe Shapira.
Aner Shapira z”l, an IDF soldier, defended festival-goers sheltering in a bomb shelter in Re’im on October 7, fighting bravely until his death. In an emotional address, Moshe Shapira recounted that according to an IDF investigation, his son Aner threw back 11 grenades thrown into the bomb shelter by the terrorists, including two after he had already been seriously wounded.
Photo: Amos Luzon Photography, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
As part of the international commemorative initiative “Unto Every Person There Is a Name,” Hanna Arnon, a Holocaust survivor from the Netherlands and a founding member of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust, read aloud the names of more than one hundred members of her family who perished in the Holocaust.
During the ceremony, the “Jewish Rescuer Citation” was presented to four rescuers who operated in the Netherlands, Poland, and France. The awards were presented to the rescuers’ family members by Alan Schneider, Director of the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem; Dr. Haim Katz; and Sar-Shalom Gerbi.
The ceremony was attended by ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from numerous countries, including the Philippines, Panama, Albania, Guatemala, Greece, Poland, the European Union, and Norway.
Photo: Amos Luzon Photography, KKL-JNF Photo Archive
KKL–JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky said: “On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we salute the heroism of Jews who saved their people in the darkest hours. Their legacy reminds us that Zionism is the rebirth of the Jewish people in its land, and that it is our duty to continue strengthening the State of Israel for generations to come.”
Dr. Haim Katz, Chairman of the B’nai B’rith World Center, emphasized the importance of the ceremony in shining a spotlight on the heroic actions of Jews who saved fellow Jews during the Holocaust, and the need to preserve their legacy for future generations.
Appendix: 2026 Jewish Rescuer Citation Recipients
Shoshana Jansje Litten Serlui (Netherlands) – Led efforts to rescue Jewish youth by organizing hiding places, forging documents, and coordinating escape routes, while continuing underground activity until her capture and death in Auschwitz in 1945.
Ellen-Ellie Waterman (Netherlands) – Played a central role in forging documents, securing hiding places, and supporting hundreds of Jews in hiding as part of the Dutch underground.
Simha Kazik Rotem (Poland) – A fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising who helped smuggle dozens of Jewish rebels through the sewers to safety and continued resistance efforts.
Paul Giniewski (France) – Operated within the French underground to distribute forged documents and secure vital support from local officials, repeatedly risking his life despite arrests.