Every year David (Dogo) Lightner practices falafel on the day of Auschwitz's release • This time he ate with the chief of staff in his office in Kirya • And also - the falafel mission that closed a circle
Eating Falafel in Kirya // Photo: IDF Spokesman
An extraordinary meeting was held Thursday in the Tel Aviv Chief of Staff's office in Tel Aviv, during which Aviv Kochavi and Holocaust survivor David (Dogo) Littner, a Falafel, ate.
Photo: IDF Spokesman
When he was 15, Dogo was sent to the death marches from Auschwitz. He survived the march while dreaming of round rolls to eat in Eretz Yisrael, as his mother told him. When he immigrated to Israel and first visited the Mahane Yehuda market, he spotted a falafel booth and remembered those round buns he had dreamed of during the Holocaust. Since that day, at the time of Auschwitz's release, Dogo has been eating falafel - a tradition that expresses his triumph of life as a sign that he will never be hungry.
Four years ago, the Holocaust Memorial House, where Dogo is active, initiated Operation Dogo - each year Dogo eats falafel with a public figure from Israel and around the world. This is the fifth year of Operation Dogo. This time, Kochavi joined the custom and the two had a falafel meal together.
"I am very happy that you are here. People like you are simply a symbol of determination, rebirth and exemplary example," Kochavi told Dogo. "Here, too, we close a circle - most of my grandfather's family were murdered in Auschwitz in Birkenau. They lived in Krakow and were evacuated to the camp during the war, one of whom managed to get to Schindler's list and thus survived. A very large part of the family found his death there, You succeeded after all. The biggest victory is not the falafel, but your family, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Thank you. From the short time I know you, it seems to me that your energies and spirit are also a great victory. "
"Your energies and spirit are a great victory" // Photo: IDF Spokesman
And there is another small circle closure. The military cook who made the falafel dishes is also a member of a family that survived the Holocaust. "We were given the mission 10 days ago and called it the Falafel Mission," says Rabbi Yaron Mizrahi. "I am a grandson of a Holocaust survivor and this is an exciting feeling. I felt the connection to my grandmother. I saw Dogo’s extended family and was very excited. I see my role as a mission and on such a day the mission is expressed. "I want to say to the Holocaust survivors and to my grandmother - thank you. Only because of them are we here. "
