This week, we observed Holocaust Survivor Day, a moment to honor the last living witnesses to the Shoah and their stories of courage, survival, and resilience. The victims and survivors of the Holocaust and October 7 are all heroes. We are standing on their shoulders, and we have an obligation to stand up, show up, and speak up to honor them, especially today, with the rampant antisemitism we are seeing all around us.
These themes of memory, responsibility, and hope were deeply present for me as I returned to Poland and Israel with March of The Living (MOTL) this year. Thirty years ago, I walked the same path from Auschwitz to Birkenau. Then, there were 2,500 of us. This year, there were 8,000 of us marching, each carrying our own memories and questions.
How did they survive? Could I have survived? Who would have saved me? Every moment, I felt a confluence of unrelenting emotions.
In one of the most moving moments of the March, I turned to a group of people walking next to me and asked where they were from. One young woman answered, “Cherkassy.” My heart caught in my throat! Cherkassy is one of Greater MetroWest’s partner communities in Ukraine. In that instant, on the very soil where our people were once murdered, I felt the unbroken thread of connection—our Federation, our community, our mission.
Marching with me was Taryn Berelowitz and she immediately connected with this group.
Taryn shared:
“Going on the March of the Living, I expected a powerful day of unity, peoplehood, and pride—but nothing prepared me for the emotional moment of reconnecting with community members from Cherkassy, Ukraine, whom I first met at a summer camp 10 years ago. Seeing that young girl, who once sang to us with her mother at camp, now grown and standing proudly with her community, was incredibly heartwarming. Despite the unimaginable challenges they face in Ukraine, their commitment to Jewish identity, memory, and solidarity is unwavering. I’m deeply proud that our Greater MetroWest Federation played even a small role in helping nurture that identity. This encounter reminded me just how interconnected and resilient our global Jewish family truly is.”
Poland was stark—only black and white: tragedy and survival, horror and the faintest glimmer of hope. We had the honor of traveling with Greater MetroWest’s own Holocaust survivor, Mark Schonwetter and his family, who showed us how he survived. I stood in the very place where seven-year-old Mark once hid, gathering berries and mushrooms to stay alive, followed by a hike into the forest where he hid for months at a time with his mother and sister.
There’s no substitute for touching that reality. Bearing witness is a physical act, walking that ground, seeing it with your own eyes, feeling it in your bones.
After Poland, four of us continued to Israel and joined another MOTL cohort. I wish our entire GMW group could have been with us!
The first morning in Israel we visited Yad Vashem. No matter how many times I go there, I always learn something new. But it is the moment when we stepped out onto the Museum terrace overlooking Israel that stirs me.
Standing there, looking out over our Homeland, I felt every emotion surge through me: grief, wonder, tolerance, hope.
Crying, I said to our guide, “We have to sing Hatikvah!”
And so, we did. We all cried and sang together, strong and unwavering, the anthem of our people, of our Homeland.
We were no longer just remembering what was, we were honoring what is. It’s the reason we sing, the reason we march, the reason we keep going. Hatikvah!
On Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, 30,000 Israelis went to Mount Herzl to lay flowers and pay respects to the fallen. And at every grave, there was an IDF soldier standing guard, protecting their memory. It reminded me of the IDF’s slogan: ‘Their job is to look after Israel. Our job is to look after them.’
On our final day of the trip, we were on a bus heading to the site of the Nova Festival massacre memorial. There is no other way to put it. It was heart-wrenching. Every marker there has a face and a story: bright, smiling young people, the very best of Israel. We stood among the fields of poppy-red anemones, and I kept thinking: what could these young people have accomplished? What could they have contributed? My heart breaks for that lost potential, for their innocence, for the questions that will never be answered.
Still there are glimmers of hope. During the closing ceremony of March of the Living, Edan Golan, Israel’s 2024 Eurovision representative and a true hero, took the stage. As she sang, 1,000 teens from all over the world rushed the stage- dancing and waving flags, their faces alight with pride and possibility. I sat there, completely choked up, because yes, there is hope! It won’t be easy, and it won’t be without pain, but we’re going to be okay.
I would not describe this mission as wonderful and enjoyable, rather it was powerful, meaningful, and educational. I’m sure everyone who traveled with me would agree that this experience has had a significant impact on our lives.
In Israel, while life continues day to day, everything is magnified. Hanging over everyone is fear, worry, and anger. Although no three Israelis agree on the next steps, they are all united in their resilience and praying for the safe return of the hostages. They believe Israel will prevail.
I am filled with profound gratitude. Gratitude for this journey, for the powerful connections we have with one another and with our Greater MetroWest community, here in Israel and around the world. There is truly no end to the impact of our Federation. No end to the ways we lift each other up, honor the past, and build a future together.
AM YISRAEL CHAI!