A delegation of victims of anti-Semitism will participate for the first time in the parade of life initiated by the Jewish Agency, as part of the message: Never Means Never.
The delegation consists of Jews who have been harmed in anti-Semitic incidents around the world, and Jews who have lost family members in antisemitic attacks in the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Turkey, India and Argentina.
Alongside the participants in the delegation will march senior officers from police organizations around the world, who are responsible for the fight against hate crimes.
The 2022 March of Life will be held on April 28 on Holocaust Martyrs 'and Heroes' Remembrance Day between the Auschwitz extermination camp and Birkenau, Poland, after two years during which it took place virtually due to the Corona epidemic.
Larcy Pierre, Photo: Rafael Yerushalmi
This year the parade will take place in a limited format following the war in Ukraine, and will be led by only eight Holocaust survivors.
Alongside them, for the first time, a special delegation will participate in the March of Life, to be set up by the Jewish Agency, which consists of victims of antisemitic attacks around the world, including those who were themselves harmed by anti-Semitism and whose families were killed in antisemitic attacks.
The world delegation will be headed by Michael Siegel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Agency. Among the participants: Howard Feinberg, whose mother, the late Joyce Feinberg, was killed in a shooting attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018;
Goldie and Orly Orta, whose mother, the late Norma Schwarzblatt Rabinovich, was killed in a terrorist attack on a Chabad house in Mumbai in 2008;
Avi Orpaz, whose mother, the late Yocheved Orpaz, was killed in a terrorist attack on a Chabad house in Mumbai in 2008;
Adi Damari, who lost her late mother Simcha Damari in a 2016 attack in Turkey and her father was injured in it.
Sarah Tayeb Dana,
Miri Koren Ben-Ze'ev, widow of the late Foreign Ministry envoy Ali Ben-Ze'ev, who was killed in a car bomb blast at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1992; Pali, who was attacked in Germany on antisemitic grounds after wearing a Star of David necklace and became active in the fight against anti-Semitism;
Larsi Pierre said that "after the horrific massacre at the school in Toulouse, which hit me personally, I see and hear differently the story of Holocaust survivors, stories I have been collecting for many years. The March of Life helps us to act symbolically for the memory and memory of Jewish children."
"I'm excited and proud"
Margarita Pali from Germany noted that she is a third generation since the Holocaust and sees a great commitment to work to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.
"Looking back and remembering the past is a vital component in the fight against anti-Semitism and racism in our society today," she said.
Sarah Tayeb Dana from the UK added that "as the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor grandfather, who always said that we, the grandchildren, this is his victory, I am very excited and proud to participate in the March of Life."
Margarita Pali, Photo: Jan Feldmann
The Jewish Agency's delegation to the March of Life is intended to raise awareness of the fight against anti-Semitism and to continue efforts to pass on the memory of the Holocaust to future generations.
Victims of anti-Semitism will take part in a unique three-day program in Poland, which begins with a visit to the agency's emergency centers in Warsaw, where they will meet with Jewish refugees who fled the war in Ukraine and will immigrate to Israel.
The delegation will then tour the labor and extermination camps, and hold a joint tour and meeting in Krakow with senior European police representatives, as part of a collaboration with the Miller Center at Rutgers University, which works against hate crimes.
The disturbing trend
Yaakov Hagoel, chairman of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency in practice: "We have recently witnessed a worrying rise in anti-Semitism in the world, and there is more physical harm and more hate speech on social media. When they say 'never again', it also means putting an end to and showing zero tolerance for anti-Semitism. "
Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, Chairman of the March of Life, congratulated the Jewish Agency on the unique and important delegation.
Sylvia Engel, 95 |
Immigrated to Israel at the age of 93
Sylvia Engel, 95, was born in Charleroi, Belgium, the only child of her parents, who lost their entire family during the Holocaust, except for the father's sister, who was in Canada.
Sylvia's family was forced to immigrate to Canada in a difficult and torturous way, which the family did in hiding places of local citizens in Italy and France until they arrived in Portugal, where they waited about a year in Lisbon for a flight to Canada.
Sylvia then moved to the United States, and after living there for many years immigrated to Israel in 2019 from Las Vegas with the help of Nefesh Benefesh, which works in collaboration with the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, the Jewish Agency, JNF and JNF-USA, out of a deep sense of Zionism.
Her father, who knew Ze'ev Jabotinsky personally, was an inspiration to her and from him she absorbed the values of Zionism.
Sandra, Sylvia's daughter, who also immigrated to Israel, tells of her being a colorful and fascinating character, sharing stories in French and Yiddish and playing the piano.
"I am happy to live in Israel," says Sylvia with a smile.
Sylvia Engel,
"I made aliyah at an older age, and they took great care of me with a lot of love and respect. I feel at home. I am lucky and happy that I was able to immigrate to Israel."
Sylvia commented on her decision to immigrate at an advanced age: "Better late than never. We had a good life in the US.
After my husband passed away I moved from Florida to Vegas.
At the age of 93, I decided that my last years would be with my family in Israel.
My father's dream was to live in Israel.
He could not make his dream come true, but my daughter Sandra, who lives next door, and I did.
We are now four generations in Israel.
I am very happy.
"My message is that it's never too late. Israel welcomes immigrants with open arms. This is our home, and I enjoy Israel every day, keep reading, play the piano and go out every day."
Sylvia agreed to share her secret to longevity: "I drink a martini every day on the balcony and look at the view from my apartment in Herzliya."
Rabbi Yehoshua Pess, founder and CEO of Nefesh B'Nefesh: "Every immigrant arouses our amazement and appreciation, but the Holocaust survivors who have immigrated to Israel in recent years have a special honor at the Hall of Zionism.
They are proof that there is no early and late fulfillment of dreams and life in the state of the Jewish people. "
Judith Prokhna, 87 |
Immigrated to Israel at the age of 83
Judith Prokhna, 87, who lives in Jerusalem, immigrated four years ago from Southfield, Michigan, USA, with the help of Nefesh Benefesh, which works in collaboration with the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption, the Jewish Agency, the JNF and JNF-USA, and enjoys everything A moment in Israel.
Judith was born in Romania in 1935. During the Holocaust her family was in hiding, and after the war her father applied for a visa to leave Romania with the family, but it was not approved.
Judith describes these years as the worst years of her life: "Hitler killed my childhood, but Stalin killed my soul."
As part of the injustices of the Soviet regime, her father was in prison on the grounds that he had spied for Israel and the family had suffered a great deal from anti-Semitism.
"People in Romania were brainwashed with anti-Semitism. My parents tried to live a Jewish lifestyle, but the circumstances were very difficult for me as a Jew. The Communists did everything so that people would not think. We lived in great density and without any expression of our privacy," she says.
Judith Prokhna, Photo: Michelle Dot Com
After hardships, the family received the coveted visa in 1962 and immigrated to the United States via Austria. "There was a group of Israelis with the Israeli flag in Austria, who told us we would have no more problems because we are Jews," Judith recalls excitedly. Me with the Israeli flag. "After arriving in the United States, Judith worked hard, completed an academic degree and had a good life, but her real dream was to immigrate to Israel.
Over the years, she twice married Holocaust survivors, gave birth to two children - Daniel, an attorney who immigrated to Israel with his family and lives in Rehovot, and another daughter who lives in the United States and is also expected to make aliyah.
Judith raised her children on the values of Zionism and with an affinity for Judaism, although she did not receive a religious education due to her communist background.
She decided to immigrate to Israel after being widowed for the second time: "It is a dream come true for me to immigrate to Israel. I am very happy. I have lived in many places, but I love being here. It is the greatest happiness. In Israel the whole country celebrates together.
I am here with all my people, who are fighting for the same goal.
The Israelis have done a great deal to make the state a Jew, and they always like to help.
Family is of paramount importance here, and children in Israel are given love and security.
"The Jewish community in the United States needs to support Israel more."
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