This Yom HaSoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, Maccabi Tzair teens hosted Zikaron BaSalon (‘Memories in the Living Room’) across the county. Maccabi Tzair teens held events in their local communities for a meaningful opportunity to learn from Holocaust from survivors. Some of them have shared their experience and how they chose to commemorate the Holocaust with us.
My name is Adi and yesterday I took part in a Zikaron BaSalon that was held at my branch of Maccabi in Hadera, Israel. The speaker at the event was my uncle David, Pinchas's son. Pinchas grew up in Belgium, after Belgium was conquered by the Nazis he fled with his family to France. At first he was in his uncle's house with his entire family, and then his family was sent to a concentration camp. In the concentration camp Pinchas and his sister Chaya were with their mother and father, until they were separated from them.
The conditions in the camp were harsh and cruel. There was also one day when a priest came and persuaded the mothers to give up their children so that he could save them and put them up for adoption (some agreed, some did not trust him). They went to the hospital and pretended to be French. Later the adoptive family was forced to move the brothers onward and they reached an orphanage in France where they saved 108 Jewish children.
The orphanage served as a home and made connections with Jewish children from other places. A few months later the orphanage owner could no longer provide for these children and they had to cross the border from France to Spain with the help of tour guides on foot. It was a difficult journey but eventually they arrived in Spain and they moved from city to city with another group Jewish children until they boarded a ship to what would become the State of Israel. Pinchas and the other Children grew up and eventually raised families of their own in Israel.
My experience from Zikaron BaSalon was very moving, the story was very interesting and full of turns and transitions. These brothers were tossed from place to place and had to leave every place they came to after a few months because of the Nazis. They had a lot of luck and it was evident in the story. Everywhere they came and they came to many places - there were Hasidim and good people who helped them and it showed me that kindness can prevail even in the darkest of times.
This year, about 15 events of "Zikaron basalon" are held in my community in Gedera. About 2 of them were planned and attended by my chapter members. In each Salon (living room) there were about 40 people who came to hear testimony from a Holocaust survivors.
In the first "salon" living room- Shlomo Gross told his personal story and his immigration to Israel. In the second "salon" Zvika Plaznsky told the story of his family.
In my opinion, this event is a very important way to remember the holocaust and emphasize our Jewish Values
We are a branch of Maccabi Tzair Israel - we promise to preserve and commemorate the Holocaust and to pass on to future generations!
Yesterday, 30/4/2019, we met a 95 years old Holocaust survivor at the home of one of our chapter member in Poleg.We were 35 adults, Shinshinim, and the branch coordinator who came together fot this event. We were all so fascinated by what the survivor shared with us. When he entered the house and saw so many young faces he said that he was very excited to be there and that it is a great privilege to have someone listen to his story, especially the Maccabi Tzair movement. We are thankful for him coming to share with us. We promised him that we would share his story of the Holocaust to as many people as possible. He was very moved and thanked us wholeheartedly. We promise to remember and never forget and to pass on the Holocaust memories to the next generation.
This year we chose to do something a little bit different on Holocaust Remembrance Day. We turned our room into a memory room where we each shared stories of children and teenagers from the Holocaust. We invited everyone from the community to come see, hear and remember with us. Each student chose a child’s story and presented it in-front of everyone. At the end everybody lit a memorial candle and shared his or her feelings in our memory book.
40 members of Maccabi Tzair in Rison Lezion gathered toghther in their local Maccabi Tzair chapter on Erev Yom HaShoah and we had a meaningful and powerful evening hosting Zikaron BaSalon. We, the members of Maccabi Tzair Rison Lezion West, got to meet with Holocaust survivor Carol Tsimet and hear the powerful stories of her survival. We will remember and never forget! That evening was so significant and important! t is important to always pass on the stories of the Holocaust survivors, always remember and do not forget!
Today, 2.5.19 Holocaust memorial Day
Members of the Maccabi youth branch in Nes Ziona went to the national rally of youth movements held at Yad Vashem. During the day we studied, wondered and heard stories about the Holocaust, the experiences of the European Jews during those years, and the Righteous Among the Nations.The day was concluded with a moving ceremony in which Aryeh and Malka, Holocaust survivors, shared their difficult story.
When we heard that we were invited to the Knesset for the Holocaust Day ceremony, I don’t think we fully grasped significance of such a ceremony. We came to the ceremony wearing khakis and ties, our uniform. During the ceremony it really hit me--it's true that a lot of hardships come along the way for the Jewish people, but now we have a state, the Jewish state. This is the triumph of light over darkness. Even though they tried to erase us, we managed to get up as always. In the Knesset it just felt like a living example. I suddenly understood the most important thing - I'm proud to be a Jew! To sing Hatikvah next to Israel’s Prime Minister who is a Jew and second generation Holocaust survivor, and I, a third generation Holocaust survivor. Standing with khaki and tie and together singing Hatikvah - the national anthem that brings us all together. There is no more powerful moment than that. I will end by quoting a line from the national anthem "Hope to be a free people in our country” להיות עם חופשי בארצנו
Maccabi Tzair is BBYO sister movement in Israel. They have 23 “Snifim” (chapters) across the county.
All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.
