July 4th is the Commemoration Day for the victims of Holocaust in Latvia. A commemorative event organized by the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia was held at the memorial in Riga, Emīlijas Benjamiņas Street 25 (formerly Gogoļa Street).
The memorial ceremony was attended by government officials, members of the Saeima and Riga City Council, other officials and foreign diplomats.
The audience was addressed by Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, Secretary of the Saeima Edvards Smiltēns, Israeli Ambassador to Latvia Sharon Rappaport-Palgi, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities of Latvia Dmitry Krupnikov, President of the Association “Jewish Survivors of Latvia in the USA” Charles Springfield.
The prayers were read by the rabbi of the Riga synagogue Elijohu Krumer and community member Eli Loiberg. The ceremony was led by Academician of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Professor Ruvin Ferber.
Participants of the event laid flowers at the memorial to victims of the Holocaust and at the monument to the rescuers of Jews.
The commemorative event traditionally takes place at the memorial created on the site of the Great Choral Synagogue burned on July 4, 1941. Next to the memorial is a monument to the rescuers who hid Jews from extermination during the Nazi occupation.
During the Nazi occupation in 1941-1945, more than 70 000 local Jews and around 20 000 Jews deported here from other European countries were killed in Latvia.
Commemorative events were also held in Daugavpils https://www.daugavpils.lv/pilseta/par-daugavpili/pilsetas-zinas/daugavpili-piemineja-ebreju-tautas-genocida-upurus-24, Rezekne https://www.facebook.com /p/R%C4%93zeknes-ebreju-draudze-100031959560704/, Jelgava https://www.jelgava.lv/jaunumi/noliek-ziedus-ebreju-tautas-genocida-upuru-pieminai-2/, Liepaja https:/ /rus.lsm.lv/statja/novosti/samoupravlenija/03.07.2024-vspomni-gospodi-cto-nad-nami-soversilos-u-steny-placa-v-liepae.a560219/ and other places in Latvia.
The event was organized with the support of the Latvian Jewish Community Restitution Fund.
04.07.2024.