Israelis mark Holocaust Memorial Day

Israeli soldiers light candles Monday at Yad Vashem, the memorial to the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Air raid sirens have sounded throughout Israel to commemorate the Holocaust, the slaughter of 6 million Jews by Nazis and their sympathizers during World War II.

The sirens went off at 10 a.m. on Tuesday for two minutes as the country came to a standstill in what is an annual national day of commemoration.

"For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road, and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust," according to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem.

Many restaurants and places of entertainment in Israel closed down as Holocaust Memorial Day, or Yom Hashoah, began sundown Monday. The day also is commemorated by Jews throughout the world.

Events for the day began with a state ceremony Monday night at the museum, when six beacons were lit by six Holocaust survivors in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust.

After the sounding of the sirens Tuesday, "the focus of the ceremony at Yad Vashem is the laying of wreaths at the foot of the six torches, by dignitaries and the representatives of survivor groups and institutions."

"Other sites of remembrance in Israel, such as the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz and Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, also host memorial ceremonies, as do schools, military bases, municipalities and places of work. Throughout the day, both the television and radio broadcast programs about the Holocaust."

On Monday night, at the museum's opening ceremony, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon referred to the conflict with the Palestinians and the recent anti-Semitic attacks against Jews and Jewish sites in France and other European countries.

Sharon said: "With the difficult struggle we are engaged in today, with the wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe, we, who remember (the victims) every day, are obligated, as Jews and as human beings, to defend our home, the only home in the world where the Jews have the right and the strength to defend themselves by themselves."