Modern Jewish holidays
Alongside the ancient festivals, the Jewish calendar now includes modern observances established in the 20th century, clustered in the spring: Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror), Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day), and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). They mark the most defining events of recent Jewish history — catastrophe, memory, and renewal. These days carry deep emotion and, for many, new ways of marking memory and gratitude on the Jewish calendar.
What does each day mark?
- Yom HaShoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day, honoring the six million Jews murdered in the Shoah and the heroism of resistance and survival.
- Yom HaZikaron — Israel's Memorial Day, remembering fallen soldiers and victims of terror; observed with solemn ceremonies and sirens.
- Yom HaAtzmaut — Israeli Independence Day, celebrating the establishment of the modern State of Israel, the day after Yom HaZikaron.
- Yom Yerushalayim — Jerusalem Day, marking the reunification of Jerusalem.
Why were these days added?
The Jewish calendar has always recorded the people's defining moments. The 20th century brought two of the most consequential events in Jewish history — the Holocaust and the founding of the modern State of Israel — and these observances give the community structured times to mourn, remember, and celebrate. The striking back-to-back placement of Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut ties remembrance directly to gratitude. (Customs and the degree of observance vary across communities and movements.)
In short: modern Jewish holidays — Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzmaut, and Yom Yerushalayim — mark the Holocaust and the modern State of Israel, recent history's most defining Jewish events.
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