The event marking Victory Day over Nazi Germany was held last Saturday, May 9, at the Red Army Forest on Mount Ruach, near Abu. The war against Iran and in southern Lebanon cast a shadow over the festive event, which has been held annually since 1950. In the past, it was initiated by the Israel-USSR Friendship Association, and during the 1950s, the ceremony was attended by hundreds of Communists as well as members of Mapam, Mapai, and the Ahdut HaAvoda party—which no longer exist.

CPI Political Bureau member, Eli Gozansky, at the event marking Victory Day over Nazi Germany held on Saturday at the Red Army Forest near Abu Ghosh, May 9, 2026 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)

Over the years, the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) has continued to hold the Victory Day event, based on the understanding that this is not just a commemoration of an important event in the history of nations, but a recognition that fascism is not merely a thing of the past; it remains a threat in Israel today.

Among the speakers at the ceremony, which was attended by both Jews and Arabs, were: CPI Secretary-General Adel Amer; Hadash leadership member Adam Eli; representative of the Movement for Friendship with Nations, Dr. Abdallah Abu-Ma’aruf; and Samir Khatib on behalf of Soviet university graduates. The event was moderated by CPI Political Bureau member Eli Gozansky, who stated in his opening remarks: “The lesson from the heroic victory over the Nazis is that we must never relent in the struggle against fascism and racism anywhere and at any time. We must overcome it and it is both necessary and possible!”

“This is the day of victory over the fascism and Nazism of back then, as well as the day of the current struggle against fascists and neo-Nazis wherever they may be,” stated MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) at the conclusion of the event. According to him, “This is a day that must remind us that the Holocaust did not begin with acts of atrocity and systematic murder, but with the criminal ‘Blood and Soil’ ideology and race theory that paved the way for extermination and ethnic cleansing. It is the duty of all anti-fascist forces to unite in an uncompromising struggle to stop today’s murky tsunami of violence, murder, destruction, and hatred, which echo the dark voices of the past.”