At 10am all pedestrians, traffic and public transport still operating under the restrictions meant to combat COVID-19, all stood in place with their heads bowed.

In homes and businesses still open under the Health Ministry's restrictions, people stopped what they were doing to pay homage to the victims of the Nazi genocide, in which a third of world Jewry was annihilated.

A traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial usually attended by Israeli leaders and Holocaust survivors was replaced by a more modest affair in accordance with the health guidelines - without anyone in attendance.

With schools and most government offices closed, there were no ceremonies throughout the country marking the occasion.

Blue & White Chairman Benny Gantz, who currently also serves as the parliament speaker gave a speech at the Knesset plenum immediately after the sirens. "The State of Israel wasn’t established because of the Holocaust, but it in the country’s DNA to learn the lesson of the Holocaust,” he said. “In these trying times, the responsibility of us as elected representatives of the public is sevenfold. We must preserve this country and its two main strengths: its military power … and the promise of ‘Never again,’” he added.

“And last but not least, we must preserve our moral strength … To demand from ourselves more than we expect from others.”

The campaign #RememberingFromHome #ShoahNames encourages people of all ages, from all walks of life, from all corners of the world, to join this global name-reading initiative and thereby help restore the identities of the millions of Holocaust victims – men, women and children.

On the Yad Vashem website, access will be provided to:

1.    A list of adult names and children's names

2.    A link to names of Holocaust victims by country

3.    A link to the Central Database of Shoah Victims’ Names, in order to allow a search for family names

All the participants in this campaign are kindly requested to video themselves (15 seconds maximum) reciting names, and then share their video in their social media with the hashtags: #RememberingFromHome #ShoahNames. Yad Vashem will then collect videos from all over the world and create an online Holocaust Remembrance Day Global Name-Reading Ceremony.

"Join us and mark Holocaust Remembrance Day this year from your homes," said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev. "Help us to restore the memory of those murdered during the Holocaust, as you do each and every year. Although the circumstances this year are unique, the message is still the same: We will never forget them."