Bondi survivors march with Holocaust survivors
The annual march on Yom Hashoah is from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where Jews were murdered in gas chambers.
Fifty Holocaust survivors joined thousands of people, including Bondi survivors, last Tuesday for the 38th March of the Living, held at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp, in memory of the six million Jews killed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
The annual march on Yom Hashoah is from Auschwitz to Birkenau, where Jews were murdered in gas chambers.
This year’s participants included survivors of recent antisemitic attacks including from the Bondi Beach massacre, the attack on the Manchester Synagogue, and the shooting of Israeli embassy staff in Washington DC. Survivors lit the Torch of Fighting Antisemitism at a ceremony.
Hanna Abesidon, daughter of 78-year-old Tibor Weitzen, who was killed at Bondi Beach, recounted her memories of the attack. She described attending the Chanukah event with her parents, her daughter and her three-year-old grandchild. It was only when she managed to get her grandchild to safety that Abesidon returned to check on her parents.
“I came closer to the area where Mum and Dad were sitting, and I recognised Dad’s shoes and pants, but he was covered already, so I knew that he was gone,” she said.
“He didn’t make it because he was a Jew, nothing else.”
Abesidon’s mother, Eva Weitzen, survived, although her best friend Edith Brutman was also murdered. Eva and Tibor were both children of Holocaust survivors.
March of the Living usually attracts around 10,000 participants, but this year only 7000 attended, with many travel plans impacted by the war in Iran. The Australian delegation dropped from 50 to 20 participants as many deferred until next year due to flight disruptions and as the Israel component was cancelled.
The Australian delegation was accompanied by Holocaust survivor Uri Themal, who was born in 1940 in Berlin and survived with his parents in Germany’s underground as non-citizens with false names, hiding in plain sight.
Non-Jewish student leaders joined the Australian delegation including Jacob Gormley who commented at the march, “As a non-Jewish person, I think we have to take up the mantle and really stand against antisemitism and speak out in our communities when we see it.”
Elliott Placks spoke on erev Yom Hashoah to over 2000 people from around the world in Krakow sharing what it has been like to live in Australia amid growing antisemitism after October 7:
“It forced me to confront a reality I thought I’d never face, things can change. Vulnerabilities exist and rights we assume are secure need to be defended. Then came the Bondi massacre, 15 people were murdered. One of them was a dear friend of mine, Rabbi Eli Schlanger,” he said.
“When violence is distant, it is tragic, when it’s personal, it’s life altering. These experiences changed how I think about safety. They led my wife and I to have conversations I’d never imagined having. Do we need an exit plan? … Standing here in Poland, it makes me think, how many murdered Jews discussed a plan B?
“That is a devastating thought for someone who loves Australia and my religion, and yet I do have hope. I remain cautious, but I’m also optimistic. Through our strong Jewish community and the many non-Jews who stand beside us, I believe Australia can choose a better path, and I believe we will get through this together, because light always prevails over darkness.”
March of the Living Australia CEO Gary Samowitz described the trip as a “remarkable journey” and told The AJN, “The group are returning inspired and empowered to be upstanders for a better world. We return from this experience prouder than ever to be Jewish and to create a vibrant Jewish future.”