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March of the Living

by The Perfessor Posted on Apr 30, 2008 under World Traveler |

During WWII thousands of Jews were forced to march between Auschwitz to Birkenau in what has come to be called a Death March. Jews were starved, beaten, and shot. When they arrived at the Death Camp the were then gassed, given lethal injections, and killed by the thousands. Some 15 years ago Jews decided to change all this and rename what happened here, truning it into an act of affirmation. Now renamed The March of the Living, the event brings together thousands of Jewish Teens from around the world to bring life to a place were there was once only death.

I mention all of this because this year, my son, Dylan is among those teens.

He is just one of 10,000 Jewish teens from all around the world flew into Poland (yeas all on the same day, all at the same airport, literally landing within minutes of each other for a full day). the Teens are then shown around one of the camps, and then marched to another camp. Then, as week later, they are flown out (again all on the same day) to Israel, where they will stay for a week. While in Israel they will be present for Israeli Independence day (the 60th anniversary of the birth of the nation).

According to the MotL’s mission statement the March’s mission is to issue a challenge to a new generation of Jewish teens by presenting them with two of the most significant events of Jewish history, that is to say the Shoah (that is to say, The Holocaust) and the birth of the nation of Israel. they do this by placing the teens in both places one after the other, and teaching them the dichotomy of them both. This is done so that people from all over the world will see, learn and, above all, to remember.

The parents of the teens from our Temple received an email letter informing us that this year those 10,000 teens will be lead on their march by Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), along with a delegation of officers and soldiers representing various IDF divisions. It is felt that ther is something in this assembly of Jewish Teens from around the world that goes beyond the symbolic. the letter goes on to say the following…

This picture of officers and soldiers, clad in the IDF uniform, marching through the roads within the death camp, tells the whole story – the story of the State of Israel that rose out of the ashes of the Holocaust, that fought to gain its independence and, since then, defends herself day in, day out, hour by hour. The IDF embodies this story of the resurrection of the Jewish People and the vow that forged the establishment of the Jewish State in 1948 – never again!

Also tomorrow, the State of Israel will commemorate Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day. On the whole, it will be a normal day in Israeli life, although cinemas, cafes, restaurants and other places of entertainment will close, people go to work as usual, and studies go on in schools, colleges and universities. This, too, bears symbolic meaning. The Holocaust is indeed part of our collective memory, but we each remember it in our own way. Our victory over the Holocaust is that the Jewish People continues, our population has grown, we have a Jewish state and we are building a future. That is our response to all the sorrow that befell us over the last generation.

Even as we remember, it is likely that Kassam rockets will once again fall on Sderot today or tomorrow, just as they did yesterday. And we can only hope that no-one will be hurt. These attacks only serve to remind us that the dangers to Israel and to the Jewish People have not passed.

Today, Lt.Gen. Ashkenazi inscribed a vow in the Visitor’s Book at Auschwitz, which stands as our answer to all those threats: “On the Eve of Holocaust Memorial Day and on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Independence of the State of Israel, I have come as the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces to say – never again! Never again will Jews gaze in terror, helplessly, through barbed-wire fences. We have come to remember and never forget, and to say in their memory – NEVER AGAIN!”

B’shalom,

Nachman Shai
Senior Vice President, UJC
Director-General, External Relations, UJC Israel

He is doing this on his 17th birthday. I am so proud of him, and I can only imagine what he is experiencing, and I am envious of his experience. I am very proud of my son, and hope that he carries this event around with him for the rest of his life. The Temple’s youtt group has posted a special blog that includes pictures of the kids and posts of what they have done, feel free to drop by and say hello.

The Perfessor