The annual commemorative event took place in the Red Army Forest

The annual gathering in the Red Army Forest traditionally initiates a series of commemorative events dedicated to Victory Day. Planted in 1950, the Red Army Forest became home to a monument erected by the hands of then-young war veterans as early as 1951. Until 1967, high-level Victory Day celebrations took place at this site. However, following the Six-Day War and the severance of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, official events in the Red Army Forest ceased.

In 2018, the Jewish National Fund (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – KKL-JNF) revived the tradition of celebrating Victory Day in the Red Army Forest, following the designation of Victory Day as an official state holiday in Israel in 2017.

This year, the event is organized in cooperation with the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, the KKL-JNF, and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Israel. Due to restrictive measures associated with the coronavirus pandemic, a relatively limited number of guests was invited to the celebration in the forest. Attendees included World War II veterans, representatives of the EAJC, KKL-JNF, diplomats from the embassies of former Soviet states, clergy, representatives of the Nativ liaison bureau, and others.

In his address at the event, Dr. Haim Ben Yakov, Director General of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, stated: "It is impossible to address World War II without examining the events of the Holocaust, which are an integral part of its history. The victory of the Allied forces over fascism, to which the soldiers of the Red Army made a singular contribution, delivered the Jewish people from the threat of complete annihilation. At this critical juncture, as the generation of eyewitnesses to those horrific events passes, we are called upon to preserve the collective memory of the Shoah and heroism."

Addressing the veterans, Amir Schnayder, Esq., Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the KKL-JNF, emphasized that the heroic struggle of the Allied armies — most notably the Red Army — shall never be forgotten.

"On this day, we pay tribute to you, who liberated the world from nightmare, and to the millions of soldiers from all Allied armies who won the fateful battle for the future of humanity — a grueling struggle for human dignity and freedom that demanded immense sacrifice," Advocate Schnayder emphasized.