Holocaust survivor holds great-grandson at brit milah during Remembrance siren

Holocaust survivor Rabbi Natan Weinberg, 90, held his great-grandson during his brit milah right as the Holocaust Remembrance Day siren sounded throughout Israel.

  Israelis stand still as the siren to commemorate Holocaust victims sounds throughout Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 28, 2022.  (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)
Israelis stand still as the siren to commemorate Holocaust victims sounds throughout Israel on Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 28, 2022.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

Holocaust survivor Rabbi Natan Weinberg, 90, from Efrat, held his great-grandson during his brit milah as he was circumcised while the Holocaust Remembrance Day siren sounded on Thursday morning, in a video posted on Efrat Regional Council Head Oded Revivi’s Twitter account. 

Weinberg, who is originally from Germany, was the sandak (godfather) at his 49th great-grandchild’s ceremonial welcome to the Jewish world. 

Every year, a two-minute siren sounds on the morning of Holocaust Remembrance Day, as all of Israel comes to a standstill to remember and honor the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust. The siren blares across the country and most Israelis traditionally stand in a moment of silence to commemorate the lives of all victims of the brutality brought upon by the Nazis. 

While the number of living Holocaust survivors dwindles every year, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics announced that the world Jewish population reached 15.2 million by the end of 2020 — which is nearly what the world Jewish population was just before the Holocaust.