The October 7 war brought Holocaust memories back into public focus, featuring accounts of slaughter, brutality, and horrifying photographs of captives. Many discuss parallels to the most tragic chapter in Jewish history, yet while we all recall atrocities we never expected to witness again, eight decades later, support for Holocaust survivors grows weaker.

The foundation, which typically succeeds through persistent effort in matching volunteers with most applicants, has failed for months to identify new volunteers capable of delivering necessary care. Numerous Holocaust survivors remain on waiting lists for volunteer placement – someone who will offer attentive listening and emotional support.

Crisis in volunteerism

"We're experiencing Holocaust survivors' most crucial period," Yael Zait, director of volunteering and community services at the foundation, states. "Their need for volunteers exceeds all previous levels – individuals who will share coffee, provide companionship, and assist with basic tasks. Regrettably, the war has resulted in many volunteers receiving military call-ups or discontinuing service for various reasons, creating direct consequences for survivors awaiting our services."

The volunteer deficit manifests throughout operations. Rachel Bruch, a five-year volunteer who has served four different survivors during her tenure, emphasizes the significance of individual relationships: "These visits transcend mere assistance – they represent profound bonds. We spend time together, converse, share laughter, and occasionally tears. Their expressions reveal their desperate need for human presence. The thought of survivors waiting without anyone reaching them deeply troubles me."

Amir Golub, an experienced foundation volunteer, has supported Holocaust survivor Ezriel Tziperbert for eight years. Their partnership included participating together in the March of the Living at Auschwitz – a moment he characterizes as extraordinary: "Accompanying Ezriel to Auschwitz created profound emotion, granting me the privilege of experiencing his narrative alongside other survivors' testimonies. Years of friendship have created family-like bonds, where volunteering provided not merely purpose but exceptional human relationships, and I understand Ezriel's dependence on this connection."

Vital human relationships

Vera Tamnov, a survivor aged 93, observes: "My longtime volunteer companion can no longer visit, leaving me experiencing days without meaningful conversation. Even brief thirty-minute discussions create a substantial impact."

Yehudit Zelstein, a 94-year-old survivor, reflects: "Through Neta and Adiel, my exceptional volunteers, I maintain happiness and recognize my value. Without their presence, my existence would hold much greater sadness."

Tragically, several dedicated foundation volunteers are unable to resume their service after perishing in combat, including Staff Sergeant Omri Ben Shahar who volonteered with Holocaust survivor Moshe Adler; Captain Avi Goldberg, who assisted Holocaust survivor Asher Wolach; Staff Sergeant Gilad Elmaliach, who supported Holocaust survivor Vladimir Linder; and Sergeant Major Shay Arvas of blessed memory, who aided Holocaust survivor Aviva Ben Yakar. These heroes' memories remain with us, accompanied by boundless appreciation for the compassion and care they delivered to survivors throughout their service.

The Foundation for the Welfare of Holocaust Victims urgently appeals to citizens to volunteer, particularly during this era when Holocaust survivors experience their remaining years while seeking modest human connection.

Volunteer registration is available through the organization's website or by telephone: 03-6090866.

The post 'We need human company': Hundreds of Holocaust survivors wait for volunteers who don't come appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

These photographs, presented in advance of Shavuot – the festival commemorating the revelation at Sinai – tell an extraordinary narrative of endurance and regeneration. The camera's eye reveals the Bible's profound influence, demonstrating its capacity to unite generations, transcend cultural boundaries, and provide spiritual fortification during periods of adversity and suffering.

"Over the past eighteen months, we have witnessed how ancestral connections can offer solace," Museum of the Jewish People CEO Oded Ravivi said. "Captivity survivors, these remarkable individuals, disclosed through their poignant testimonies how Jewish identity became a genuine foundation for many. Sacred texts provided them with fortitude to endure captivity's darkness and preserve hope during their most desperate moments."

Israel's most ancient textual tradition, museum representatives explain, remains a wellspring of inspiration, identity and dignity for Jewish communities globally – transcending sectarian, ethnic, linguistic or theological differences. The Bible serves as the unifying thread and shared inheritance that has guided Jewish civilization throughout millennia.

In preparation for Shavuot, an extraordinarily rare manuscript has entered the museum's permanent collection – the Codex Sassoon, representing the most intact ancient biblical text known to exist. This 1,100-year-old manuscript reached Israel following its acquisition for $38 million at Sotheby's auction house, occurring merely two days prior to October 7, 2023, and has remained secured within the museum's preservation facility since that time.

"Presenting this exceptional manuscript during Shavuot embodies Jewish heritage's extraordinary persistence," Ravivi explained. "This ancient biblical text demonstrates how sacred scripture has sustained our people through historical turbulence, emphasizing that during difficult periods, our collective legacy provides unlimited reserves of fortitude and optimism."

The museum director characterizes the Codex Sassoon as transcending mere cultural artifact status, functioning instead as tangible evidence of Jewish strength's foundations. "Particularly during these intense times, exhibiting it within the Museum of the Jewish People's permanent galleries – the world's most comprehensive institution – bears profound symbolic significance and fulfills a remarkable historical trajectory spanning from its original creation to its current placement at Jewish narrative's epicenter."

The post Photos reveal how Bible sustained Jews worldwide for centuries appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) published "Stronger Than Fear," which profiles Righteous Rescuers from nine countries along with stories of the Jewish people they saved. The initiative joins Israel's longstanding efforts to honor those who protected Jews during the Shoah.

At an event launching the collection in Limoges, France, Holocaust survivors will meet the children and grandchildren of the Righteous Rescuers who saved them. In other instances, living Righteous Rescuers will meet descendants of Holocaust survivors they helped save.

"During the Shoah, thousands of individuals across Europe risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis," President of the Claims Conference Gideon Taylor said. "Today, only about 150 of those Righteous Rescuers are still with us. The Claims Conference has been a long-time supporter and funder of many Righteous Rescuer programs around the world, and we are proud to continue honoring their sacrifice with this publication."

The gathering will include Jewish siblings Dr. Sophia Joachims, 89, and Mark (Manek) Schonwetter, 91, who were born in Poland and survived the Holocaust thanks to a Righteous Rescuer family that hid them. Survivor Colette Zeif from Paris will also attend. After her mother was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, Colette and her elder sister Jacqueline were taken in by the couple Marguerite and Charles Bayrand in Limoges, who presented them as their own children.

Rüdiger Mahlo, Representative of the Claims Conference in Europe, emphasized the educational importance of these stories: "The history of the Righteous Rescuers extends beyond the lives they saved. They demonstrate the courage needed to speak out, to act, and to choose empathy over apathy. The transmission of these stories is at the core of educating every generation on the Holocaust."

Bronislawa Bakun, a Righteous Rescuer from Janów/Sokólka in Poland who rescued more than 12 Jews from persecution and death, offered a powerful yet humble perspective: "We simply did what one does when one is human."

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, noted that the publication provides 36 portraits of Righteous Rescuers who together saved more than 220 Jews. "Each portrait is a living example of humanity and courage," he said. "The Claims Conference is committed to passing their legacy of strength and active compassion on to future generations."

While more than 28,400 Righteous Rescuers have been vetted and registered by Yad Vashem, only about 150 remain alive today. Their testimonies are considered critical to Holocaust history and deeply personal to the global Jewish community, including Israel.

Pierre-Michel Kahn, the only survivor of the Montbéliard roundup of February 1944, saved by Righteous Rescuer Louise Blazer, shared his perspective: "Saving Jews at the risk of one's own life means preferring the lives of others to one's own. I'm thinking of Lou Blazer, a member of the Resistance and suspected as such by the German police, who didn't hesitate to ask the Kommandantur for a safe-conduct, allowing her to get a Jewish child out of prison, as he was about to leave for Auschwitz."

The book features rescuers from Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Currently available in English and French, further editions are planned in Polish, German, Hebrew, and Lithuanian throughout 2025.

Jaroslawa Lewicki, a Righteous Rescuer originally from Złoczów in Poland who, together with her mother and grandfather, hid two Jewish boys in their house for more than a year, shared her family's approach: "To give the hidden Jews hope for survival, we had to conceal our own fear. My mother would remind us every day that we must be stronger than our fear, or nothing will succeed."

Witold Lisowski, a Righteous Rescuer from Warsaw who along with his mother and brother smuggled food and medicine into the Ludwisin ghetto and hid Dudek Inwentarz in their home for several years, reflected on the lasting impact: "Today, when I see the family of 30 that Dudek founded after we helped him survive the Second World War, I know that it was worth taking every risk."

Regina Suchowolski Sluszny, a Holocaust survivor from Belgium saved by the Flemish couple Anna and Charel Jacobs-Van Dijck, explained her mission to share these stories: "The aim of my testimonies in various schools and organizations in Belgium is to help people understand the heroism of the Righteous through my own story and that of my husband, Georges Suchowolski. We are two Jewish children who were hidden for many years by non-Jews."

She added, "These Righteous risked their lives to protect children they didn't even know the day before. It is to honor all the Righteous Among the Nations that I recount what happened to us. These Righteous must never be forgotten, for it was they who enabled us, at the risk of their own lives and of being sent to forced labor themselves, to start a family after the war. Thanks to the Righteous, 50% of the Jewish people living in Belgium before the war survived. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!"

The Claims Conference has upheld a commitment to honor Righteous Rescuers since 1963, when Yad Vashem began officially recognizing individuals as Righteous Among the Nations. The program takes its name from the literature of the Sages (Chasidei Umot HaOlam), which describes non-Jews who came to the aid of Jewish people in times of need.

A digital version of the book "Stronger Than Fear" is available on the Claims Conference website.

The post 'Stronger than fear': New book honors righteous gentiles, Holocaust survivors they saved appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany has launched #CancelHate, a digital initiative in which Holocaust survivors worldwide read antisemitic comments that proliferate widely on social media and respond.

Holocaust survivors are participating in the #CancelHate campaign to show hate will NOT win. Survivors who read the vile social media posts that deny the Holocaust are putting their discomfort aside to ensure generations understand the harm of unchecked hatred. #WordsMatter

This… pic.twitter.com/Gyf01KrJKR

— Claims Conference (@ClaimsCon) May 2, 2024

In stark videos, the survivors steel themselves to read slurs like "The Holocaust was a lie – Stop spreading misinformation" and "There were no gas chambers...I have the same goals as Hitler: Exile the Jews and keep their degeneracy out of society." They then counter with searing testimony validating the atrocities they endured and witnessed firsthand.

"I survived the Holocaust, but 13 members of my immediate family were murdered because they were Jewish," states Abe Foxman, a US survivor participating in #CancelHate. "Holocaust denial on social media isn't just another post...Posts that deny the Holocaust are hateful and deny the suffering of millions."  

The potency of the campaign lies in its undeniable truth emanating from the last remaining survivors. As Hedi Argent, a UK citizen, recounts, "My family was turned out of our home because we were Jews...17 members were murdered...The Holocaust did happen."

Their voices take on profound urgency amid studies showing Holocaust knowledge waning perilously among younger generations, leaving them vulnerable to distortions. Nearly half of US millennials and Gen Z report seeing denial rhetoric online, mirroring trends in other countries like the UK.

"I could never have imagined...Holocaust survivors confronting such a tremendous wave of denial and distortion, but sadly, that day is here," laments Greg Schneider of the Claims Conference. "We saw what unchecked hatred led to – words of hate and antisemitism sparked deportations, gas chambers, crematoria."  

In a world where social platforms enable hatred to spread unabated, this campaign harnesses survivors' firsthand experiences as an indomitable barrier against those seeking to rewrite the past. "Words matter," affirms German survivor Herbert Rubinstein. "Six million were murdered...I am fighting Holocaust denial with all my might and strength."

For 30 days, #CancelHate's videos will tell survivors' truths to those propagating revisionism and hate under the virtual cloak of anonymity. Their words serve as a defiant rallying cry for a world still susceptible to the dangerous consequences of allowing hate speech to go unchecked.

The post Holocaust survivors launch campaign against resurgent denial appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

The two provocateurs who approached the group at the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany at the end of October knew what they were doing. What they probably didn't realize was that they helped cement the very reason the group was there in the first place. The common denominator of most, if not all, Holocaust education efforts is to teach that the tragedy and its underlying causes must never be forgotten or repeated and that the Jews will never again become defenseless victims of genocide. Those two men drove home that point succinctly.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

The delegation visiting the camp was from March of the Living UK, which was on its first educational journey since the outbreak of the coronavirus. The organization had wanted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British forces, but the pandemic prevented the delegation from traveling until now. The delegation, which included four Holocaust survivors and about 80 participants – Jews and non-Jews, aged 19 to 90 – visited Berlin, Wannsee, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen.

The stark juxtaposition of the pastoral German countryside with its lakes and trees to the horror that took place in the nearby concentration camps remains mind-boggling. From Wannsee to Ravensbrück to Bergen-Belsen, it seems the Nazis always chose the most beautiful places to plan the genocide of, inter, or kill innocent people.

The Holocaust survivors who led the delegation were Mala Tribich, Eve Kugler, Alfred Garwood, and Harry (Chaim) Olmer, all of whom live in Britain and most of whom have taken part in several March of the Living UK delegations to Poland in the past.

Tribich, 90, returned to Ravensbrück concentration camp for the first time since she was imprisoned there for two-and-a-half months from December 1944 to February 1945 when she was 14 years old. She related her experience there. "There is a list with my name on it in this camp. It took us a number of days to arrive by train. We had to strip, and our clothing was taken away. Our heads were shaved. We went through cold, communal showers."

She recalled seeing soldiers standing on each side as they undressed and described how she "nearly died of embarrassment. I'll never forget that horrible moment," she said,

"We all looked the same," she continued. "It really did something to our souls. It's very difficult to describe what it feels like to be stripped of your personality. We somehow didn't feel human anymore. It was such a shock to our system. Within seconds, they took our identity; this is one of the hardest moments I can remember. One of the effects it had on us was to lose hope, and without hope, there is no survival. My aunt Frania Klein died within a short time. My best friend Pema died soon after that. I also cannot forget the cold that penetrated our bones. There was no way to warm up. The winter in Germany was freezing. People died next to me from cold and hunger."

Tribich said that "it hurts a lot to be back, but I admit I had to do it, even if only to remember the victims. I feel that if we do not mention them, they will be forgotten, as if they never lived. As the generations go by, this is the way to make sure the victims are not forgotten, and the memory continues. I am hopeful... that they will never be forgotten."

'We died several times, I think'

Scott Saunders, chairman of March of the Living UK, explained to JNS that one of the elements that makes the organization unique is that it invites participants who are post-high school, which means the trip can focus on deeper analysis and a more intellectual thought process. "It's more nuanced because the audience is older," he said. "It's a different discussion."

Saunders also believes that the role of the educator is supremely important, and for that reason, he believes in bringing more educators to lead smaller groups, as opposed to having large groups and few educators. That ratio, according to Saunders, makes for a more meaningful trip for the participants because the groups are more intimate and the discussions deeper.

Earlier in the day, the delegation visited the Berlin-Grunewald station from which the Nazis deported many of Berlin's Jews. The delegation also visited the site of the infamous Wannsee Conference where the Nazis planned the systematic destruction of European Jewry.

The delegation then visited the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in part because it was liberated by British soldiers and because two of the survivors on the trip survived the camp.

Tribich was transferred from Ravensbrück to Bergen-Belsen in February 1945, just two months before liberation.

She recalled her experience.

"They walked us into the camp and what we saw was the smoke, and there was a terrible smell. And through that smoke, you saw people who were really skeletons. And they were shuffling along like zombies. They would collapse and die. You could be speaking to someone, and she would literally drop dead in front of you. There were dead bodies all over the place. There were piles of naked, twisted, decaying corpses. It was a horrific sight."

When asked whether she remembers the liberation, she said: "I was ill with typhus, and I remember lying on my upper bunk by the window in this children's home and – you know with typhus you're unconscious most of the time; it is a terrible illness. I remember opening my eyes and I could see people running, and I didn't know where they were running or why. But all I could think was how do they have the strength to run?"

Asked how she had the courage to live, she replied, "I don't know how to answer the question. We died several times, I think. I had at least five really lucky escapes, and I know some places where my memorial would be."

During the visit, a ceremony was held with the participation of Col. Dickie Winchester, Royal Artillery, representing the role of the British Army in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Winchester was joined by Lt. Col. Simon Ledger (Ret.) of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, the lead Armoured Regiment nearby in 1945 that was informed of the horror of Bergen-Belsen. Their Reconnaissance Troop was sent to assess the camp. Both men laid wreaths as representatives of the British Army.

They noted, "This place is of deep importance to us … . On behalf of the British Army and our unit that liberated the camp, we are proud to return here today along with Holocaust survivors who were liberated from Bergen-Belsen and later moved to live in Britain."

"Spending time at this camp has had a huge impact on my life. Today, I am moved beyond words. Seeing the young people on this trip is so inspiring," Ledger told the delegation.

Garwood, one of the survivors on the trip, was a small child in Bergen-Belsen: "I was born into the war and was almost 4 years old when I was liberated. Children were with their mothers, and I survived in part because my mother managed to breastfeed me. It was a miracle. There were a lot of children in the camp. We played near the corpses. We suffered quietly. The ones who cried were killed. My friends died next to me. I'm coming back here today to tell the story of myself, my family and many victims. That memory will never be forgotten."

As the group left Bergen-Belsen, Tribich said, "I have now completed the cycle of visiting the most horrible places in my life."

Saunders noted that "accompanying the survivors to Germany after all these years was essential. Bergen-Belsen holds an important and dark place in British history, and today, we honored the survivors and the British armed forces involved in their liberation. We have spent time in Germany exploring the rise of Nazism and how even in one of the most cultured countries in the world, hatred went unchecked and led to one of the worst atrocities in human history."

Holocaust education 'in transition all the time'

While these types of delegations and trips are essential to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive and relevant, the topic of Holocaust denial and Holocaust education has become increasingly politicized. Educators and historians are faced with the challenge of ensuring the details of the Holocaust do not become distorted and that its lessons are not forgotten.

Esther, a non-Jewish native of the United Kingdom who participated in the delegation to Germany, explained to JNS how she began to study the Holocaust and listen to survivor testimonies and eventually joined a March of the Living UK trip to Poland and had who she described as "the most amazing educator."

That experience convinced her to pursue Holocaust studies and to work in it in a professional capacity.

She said the biggest challenge of Holocaust memorialization and commemoration is "the fact that we eventually will not have living survivors."

"Something that is scary to me is the distortion of the Holocaust and not just denial. It's really hard to believe what happened there, and it is very moving to hear a survivor tell their story. You get a real emotional connection to it, and then you can start to envision or imagine what happened so it gives it gravitas. The challenge for educators is how do you bring someone who did not experience it to Holocaust sites [like Bergen-Belsen where there are barely any traces of the original camp] that will inevitably begin to look more like big open spaces and then connect to history? If people cannot believe it, that leaves the Holocaust open to distortion," she said.

Esther invited her German friend named Eva to assist March of the Living UK during its trip through Germany.

Eva explained that she works a lot with different groups and with different narratives and that joining this delegation was "super interesting."

She explained that "as a German, you say, 'Oh, we own this topic; we know everything.' And suddenly you realize it is not true. There are so many narratives."

Holocaust education is "a work in progress," she said. "People think now it is changing because soon, the witnesses will be gone. But that is not true. It's been in transition all the time."

She explained that she is optimistic about the future of Holocaust education in Germany. "People are sometimes scared that fourth- or fifth-generation Germans might not be interested in the Holocaust because they are so far removed from it, but actually I think that is not the case," she said. "My experience is that they are very interested. They are more open and free to actually engage with the topic because there is no family in the background" telling them to stay away from it.

As an example, Eva said the national archives in Germany have had a manifold increase in requests from young Germans to learn about their family history. "That to me is very optimistic," she said.

The post March of the Living UK brings delegation to Germany for first time appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Beit Lohamei Hagetaot (Ghetto Fighters' House Museum) will be hosting the 8^th PHOTO IS:REAL international photography festival from June 15-July 14. This is the first time the largest photography festival in Israel will take place at this location.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

This year's festival will include a special exhibit of large-scale photos from the Lonka project, in which 45 photographers took pictures of 45 Holocaust survivors.

In the museum's courtyard, eight separate exhibits will feature 34 artists from 20 countries, including an exhibit devoted to Lithuanian women who emigrated to Ireland in the 2000s and a project by two photographers who visited 16 countries to photograph the face of climate change.

Yigal Cohen, general director of Beit Lohamei Hagetaot, said, "We believe that the focus on human events and processes in Israel and the rest of the world will contribute to tolerance and understanding, help shed light on the past, and promote learning that will shape the society we want to be in the future.

"We see special importance on shining a spotlight on the Holocaust survivors living among us today, and the understanding that these are the last years in which we as a society will be able to learn first-hand about one of the most difficult events in the human experience – the Holocaust. The photography festival is an important contribution to Beit Lohamei Hagetaot's extensive educational activity," Cohen said.

Entry to the festival is free of charge.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Ghetto Fighters' House Museum to host international photography festival appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Holocaust survivors, educators, leaders, and historians from around the world will kick off Liberation75, marking 75 years of liberation from the Holocaust, at 12 p.m. eastern time on Tuesday by sharing the #ItStartedWithWords digital campaign, created by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and Holocaust survivors from around the world.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

#ItStartedWithWords is a digital Holocaust education campaign posting weekly video posts from Holocaust survivors (which already have garnered nearly 4 million views on Facebook) from across the world.

Each video features a survivor telling of the moments that led up to the Holocaust; a period of time when they could not have predicted the ease with which their long-time neighbors, teachers, classmates, and colleagues would turn on them, before words of hate turned to acts of violence.

Over the course of five days, beginning Tuesday, Liberation75 will bring together thousands of people from around the world committed to fighting antisemitism and racism, and continuing Holocaust education and remembrance. Liberation75 will kick off by sharing the #ItStartedWithWords campaign video. The entire event is virtual and registration is free.

Claims Conference President Gideon Taylor said, "The survivors we work with are excited and gratified by the extraordinary attention their #ItStartedWithWords videos have been receiving. Their dedication to this work is an inspiration to all of us. We are thrilled to be a part of the kick-off of Liberation75, where the voices of Holocaust survivors will be elevated further during a global moment of simultaneous sharing of their videos over social media platforms."

In the most recent videos posted for this campaign, we learn about Ruth Herzberg Sirkes and her family, who encountered signs that read, "Jews, Do Not Sit" on the park benches where they had previously found refuge; we hear from Roman Kent who recalls being taunted by children who yelled "Dirty Jews!" at him while he was on his way to school; and how Shraga Milstein and his father reacted as they endured jeers while they walked down the street where they lived.

The campaign video, which will be shared globally at 12 p.m. EST on Tuesday, already has over 3 million views.

Nearly 50 museums and institutions from around the world are participating in the #ItStartedWithWords campaign. These include the United Nations; the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM); Yad Vashem; the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA); Fondation Pour La Memoire De La Shoah; the Anne Frank House, Netherlands; UNESCO; the Memorial of the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin; the Anne Frank Center, Argentina; the Montreal Holocaust Museum; Holocaust Educational Trust of the UK; the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust; Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center; the Museum of Jewish Heritage; POLIN, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw and many more.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Holocaust survivor-led social media campaign launches 'Liberation 75' appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Israel's current infection is 6.3%, according to Health Ministry data, as 3,041 of the 50,020 people who tested for the coronavirus, Sunday, were found to be infected with COVID-19.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

There are currently 39,640 active cases of the virus, 838 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 275 are on ventilators.

Around 4.4 million Israelis have received their first dose of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine; nearly 3 million have received both doses.

According to a military task force report on the coronavirus outbreak, the downward trend in morbidity rates is continuing, but the rate of infection remains high.

"Every infected person is infecting less than one other person on average, and that is a sign of a decline in the pandemic's spread," according to the task force report. "Nevertheless, the infection rate (at a weekly average of around 6.5%) continues to be relatively high."

According to the report, while not in decline, Israel's reproduction rate has remained stable in recent days.

Coronavirus chief Nachman Ash said on Sunday that a coronavirus variant originating in Uganda has been found in the country, without giving further details, The Times of Israel reported.

"We are still not sure of its clinical impact," he said.

Nachman Ash reminded the public "the pandemic is not yet behind us" and urged Israelis to avoid large gatherings during the Purim holiday" which will take place on Thursday evening.

He warned a spike in coronavirus cases after Purim would lead to the return of restrictive measures or even a fourth lockdown. "Half of the population is still not immune," he said.

He noted that prayer services in accordance with the guidelines were allowed, "but large meals … and parties are totally forbidden. They pose a threat to our health."

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein noted his ministry had received reports of people organizing Purim parties online and that a 35% increase had been seen in alcohol sales. "The atmosphere right now is one of progress and opening, also of a large part of the education system, of gyms. Right now, the reports we're receiving are not encouraging, and that is why at the government meeting, we will consider what we'll do in a state of lockdown."

He said, "We want to allow people to feel the holiday, eat with their family, and hear the megillah [read aloud], but to avoid parties, carrying on, and drinking with everyone. We're looking for the middle road."

Asked about reports Israel would run out of Pfizer vaccines, Edelstein said that if they do run out, residents who want to be vaccinated would receive Moderna's vaccine. "There's no need for manipulations. We're continuing to vaccinate. There's no need to worry. We are acting to vaccinate everyone to open the market and cultural events up more," he said.

According to the health minister, once 5 million Israelis have been inoculated for the virus, Israel would switch to Moderna's vaccine.

"It's the same vaccine with results that are just as good. I don't understand the panic," he said.

As for reports Israel would provide other countries with vaccines, Edelstein said, "We are not transferring vaccines, certainly not Pfizer's, to any country. There have been a lot of reports on that, but we will not see a situation in which vaccines go to other countries or other people at the expense of Israel's citizens."

Noting 2.6 million Israelis were eligible for a certificate of vaccination, he said, "More and more people understand that vaccination saves lives. Go get vaccinated!"

Israel reopened swathes of its economy including malls and leisure facilities on Sunday, with the government saying the start of a return to routine was enabled by the country's vaccination campaign that saw almost half of the population inoculated for COVID-19.

Shops were open to all. But access to gyms, hotels and theatres was limited to people with a "green pass": those who have had both doses of the vaccine more than a week prior, or recovered from the disease with presumed immunity.

Pass-holders could prove their status by presenting a vaccination certificate or downloading a Health Ministry app linked to their medical files.

The health minister also commented on the decision by a number of cities to bring students in grades 7 to 9 back to schools in violation of the Health Ministry's guidelines, which would have seen them return to in-person learning on March 9.

Edelstein said, "If they're all professors of epidemiology, they can explain what they're doing. I propose they obey the law and the guidelines. No one gave them the right to put their residents at risk when they were elected."

He noted, "I have a child at home this age. I understand the frustration. You can always find people who don't want to maintain the guidelines and want to be populists. The guidelines were written in blood. I say very clearly to local authority heads: Behave responsibly."

Over 75% of new cases confirmed over the weekend were among individuals aged 39 and under, suggesting Israel's early focus on inoculating the elderly was finally paying off.

The Claims Conference and first responders at United Hatzalah, meanwhile, joined forces to ensure all of Israel's 11,000 homebound Holocaust survivors are vaccinated for the virus. As part of the campaign, the Claims Conference will donate 5 million shekels (around $1.5 million) to pay to transport survivors to and from vaccination centers.

Following the death of a 32-year-old pregnant woman and her unborn child from the virus, Sunday, the Health Ministry reiterated its recommendations pregnant women get the vaccine. It noted there has been no evidence of any harm to either pregnant woman or babies as a result of the vaccine. It said women who were at high risk for COVID-19 should get vaccinated in the first trimester, other pregnant women could wait till their second or third trimester to get the jab.

Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Corona variant originating from Uganda discovered in Israel appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Two Jewish friends from Berlin who believed that each other had been killed during World War II and the Holocaust recently reunited with the help of the USC Shoah Foundation.

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

After Ana María Wahrenberg and Betty Grebenschikoff said goodbye to each other in a German school year in May 1939, Wahrenberg's family fled to Chile, while Grebenschikoff traveled to the United States via Shanghai. This past fall, they saw each other again via Zoom for the first time in 82 years.

"In her [USC Shoah Foundation] testimony, Betty said she had been actively searching for her long-lost friend for her entire life; she even specifically mentions Ana María's name in the hopes that this will help her find her best childhood friend," said Rachael Cerrotti, who works as a creative producer for the USC Shoah Foundation, which has more than 55,000 video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and witnesses, reported the Times of Israel.

After hearing Wahrenberg speak at a virtual Kristallnacht event, Holocaust testimony indexer Ita Gordon remembered Grebenschikoff's testimony given to the foundation 24 years ago and made the connection between the two women. Cerrotti said "what followed was a series of phone calls" to put the two women back in touch.

"This has been a great gift, which, at this point in my life, I am boundlessly grateful for," declared Wahrenberg of reuniting with her childhood friend in November.

"Betty and I have had several encounters by WhatsApp and Zoom. We [now] talk every Sunday for about an hour … we will never catch up! Our conversations are great; we still have common interests and, of course, many, many memories that we still share," she said. "As soon as we get out of this horrible pandemic, we will try to get together in some corner of the world."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

 Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Childhood friends torn apart by Holocaust Zoom regularly, 82 years later appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

Pope Francis paid a surprise visit on Saturday to the home of Edith Bruck, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and author, and paid homage to all those killed by Nazi "insanity."

Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter

Bruck, 89, who lives in Rome, was born into a poor Jewish family and spent time in a series of concentration camps, losing her father, mother and brother in them.

A Vatican spokesman, who announced the visit after it ended, said the two spoke of her time in the camps and the importance that future generations be made aware of what happened.

"I came here to thank you for your witness and to pay homage to the people martyred by the insanity of Nazi populism," the Vatican quoted the pope as telling Bruck.

Bruck, who has lived in Italy for decades and writes in Italian, was about 13 when she was taken to Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland with her family.

Video: Reuters

Her mother died there and her father died in Dachau, in Germany, where they were taken after that. While in Dachau, she dug trenches and laid railway sleepers (ties), she recently told the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano.

She later spent time in Christianstadt, a sub-camp of the larger Gross-Rosen camp. She finally wound up in Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated by the Allies in 1945.

The Nazis and their allies murdered around 6 million Jews, as well as others, in German-occupied Europe.

More than a million people, most of them Jews, were killed at Auschwitz in southern Poland, which was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. The vast majority were gassed to death.

The pope, who rarely leaves the Vatican for private visits, spent about an hour with Bruck, who has written novels and plays and directed films.

Last month on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the pope, who visited Auschwitz in 2016, urged people to keep a close watch on ideological extremism, because "these things can happen again."

 Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!

The post Pope pops in on author and Holocaust survivor Edith Bruck appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.