| Today is Yom HaShoah, Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, and we find ourselves holding both memory and present reality at the same time. The weight of history is never far here in Jerusalem. In a time like this, you feel it more. Yom HaShoah invites us to pause and remember the lives lost in one of the darkest chapters in human history. Six million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered. Entire families, communities, and futures were erased. The scale is impossible to comprehend. But what often stays with us are the individual stories—and the choices people made in the midst of unimaginable evil. Among those stories are the ones we call the “Righteous Among the Nations.” These were men and women who were not Jewish, yet chose to risk their lives to save Jewish lives. Many were never recognized, but their actions remain a testimony to what it means to stand for what is right when the cost is high. Our team put together a short article reflecting on these stories—what they meant then, and what they can still teach us now. As we remember today, I encourage you to read it here: https://firmisrael.org/learn/from-exodus-to-world-war-2-the-righteous-among-the-nations/ The Righteous Among the Nations were not extraordinary because of who they were before the moment came. They became extraordinary because they chose to act when it did. History remembers outcomes, but at the center of it all are simple, human decisions—to help, to protect, to stand. That pattern isn’t confined to one moment in time. Scripture is full of it—ordinary people choosing what is right in the moment they’re given, even when the outcome is uncertain. Remembering the past in a time like this is not only about looking back. It’s about allowing those stories to shape how we live, how we see others, and how we respond when we are faced with the opportunity to do what is right. Thank you for taking the time to remember—and to reflect on what it means for us now. Blessings from Jerusalem, |
  Michael MistrettaCEO at FIRM |