Every year on May 9, the anniversary of the Nazi Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union in 1945, the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) marks the defeat of the Nazi forces at the hands of the Red Army. This year, communists and Hadash activist delegations held the annual commemoration of this historic event on Saturday, May 9, in the Red Army Forest near Jerusalem. In Israel, the CPI has for many years stood at the forefront of the commemoration of May 9^th – Victory Day over Nazi Germany – even during times in which the Israeli establishment chose to completely ignore this decisive event in human history

Last Saturday’s was held in accordance with Heath Ministry protocols, in contrast to previous years in which hundreds of members of the CPI, Hadash and numerous Red Army veterans attended the event.

Communist Party of Israel General Secretary, Adel Amer, during the Victory Day Celebration in the Red Army Forest near Jerusalem, May 9, 2020 (Photo: Al-Ittihad)

Participating in the ceremony hosted by the CPI were chairman of the Joint List, MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash), General Secretary of the CPI, Adel Amer, and two leading CPI members, Eli Gozansky and Dr. Abdallah Abu-Ma’arouf. “For no less than hundreds of years there was no more important historical event than this,” said MK Odeh, “marking the defeat of fascism by advanced values.” As he spoke, signs and red flags of former Soviet Union with the well-known hammer and sickle symbol hung in the background.

Adel Amer related how “Throughout the 20^th century, communists led the struggle against fascism and racism. We are proud of this struggle and are committed to its humane values, now and in the future. The Holocaust of European and North Africa Jewry is an inseparable part of the essence of racism and the monstrous practices of fascism. The lesson of the Holocaust is universal and humane. Dealing with it is both a humanistic and a Communist duty. For us, it is also a very contemporary lesson. No people is immune to fascism and racism. These dangers exist in Israeli society as well, and struggling against them obliges us to form, within the Israeli society, a broad democratic front of resistance and action.”

“The CPI is well aware that for decades, the Israeli establishment has made great efforts to appropriate the Holocaust for the benefit of official state propaganda. This is a false connection. As the Communist Party of Israel, it is our duty to contribute to the struggle against the misuse of the memory of the Holocaust, which is intended for the justification of the Occupation. The way of dealing with it is not by running away or avoiding the matter. Dealing with it means not forfeiting to the Israeli establishment the universal marking of events and ceremonies commemorating the victims of Nazism,” Amer said.

The CPI also released two videos on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. “On this important day, 75 years after the great victory of the Soviet Nation over the Nazis and fascism, it is important to remember that in wars between fascism and socialism, in the war between racism and the fellowship of nations, the workers’ union of all the Soviet Union’s nations won,” said a speaker in Russian, a leading member of the Israeli Communist Youth Alliance.

“Today, the threat of fascism and racism looms above our society’s future and today, like then, only the union between the workers of all the nations that live [in Israel], Jews and Arabs, can prevent this catastrophe,” he continued. “When facing the attempts of the extreme rightist government to plant hatred and to divide us, only together can we win.” He concluded, “In the name of the Communist Party of Israel and the Israeli Communist Youth Alliance: good fortune on this day of victory.”

The videos released by the CPI for this year’s Victory Day celebration:

• https://www.facebook.com/hadash.org.il/videos/690509318158346/ in Russian with Hebrew and Arabic subtitles
• https://www.facebook.com/hadash.org.il/videos/288379105526022/ in Hebrew with Arabic subtitles