M

ore than 150 Friends of the Israel
Defense Forces (FIDF) sup-
porters from across the United
States embarked on a mission to Poland
and Israel, which concluded recently, with
Holocaust survivors and 50 soldiers and
officers representing all branches of the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The mission was the largest in FIDF’s
history, and celebrated Israel’s 70th anni-
versary, as well as the establishment of the
IDF on May 26, 1948, two weeks after the
creation of the state of Israel.
“FIDF was honored to bring local sup-
porters on this mission from Poland to
Israel, which provided an unmatched,
deeply powerful connection to the very
core of Jewish identity, taking in the
sweeping breadth of the Jewish experi-
ence,” said FIDF Michigan Development
Director Paula Lebowitz.
Joining the delegation was Auschwitz
survivor Leon Shear, 91, who was born in
Bedzin, Poland, and watched his mother
and sister being sent to the gas chambers
at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Except for his

brother, who also resides in the United
States, his entire family perished in the
Holocaust. Shear now lives in Beachwood,
Ohio.
In one of the most emotional and sur-
prising moments of the FIDF mission,
Shear, who never had the opportunity
to celebrate his bar mitzvah because of
the Holocaust, finally had one during the
flight from Poland to Israel. Taking advan-
tage of having a rabbi, IDF soldiers and
a Torah on board, Shear’s spontaneous
ceremony symbolized the journey of the
Jewish people from Holocaust to indepen-
dence.
Also joining the group from Israel were
Holocaust survivors Eva Lavi, 81, and Arie
Oz, 82. At just 6 years old, Lavi was the
youngest person on German industrialist
Oskar Schindler’s list, which helped spare
the lives of some 1,200 Jews who were
destined for Auschwitz. Born in Germany,
Oz fled to Holland, where a Christian fam-
ily hid him. From their attic, he watched
Allied bombers attack the Nazis and
dreamed of one day becoming a pilot. Oz

TOP LEFT: Midwest FIDF supporters at Israel’s
official memorial site for fallen soldiers from the
armored corps in Latrun on April 18. TOP RIGHT: The
FIDF delegation marches into Auschwitz-Birkenau on
April 15. BOTTOM: Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Leon
Shear celebrated his bar mitzvah on the FIDF flight
from Poland to Israel on April 16.

SHAHAR AZRAN

Michigan FIDF supporters travel
to Poland and Israel.

ELI DASSA

From Holocaust
To Independence

SHAHAR AZRAN

eretz

moved to Israel after the war and joined
the Israeli Air Force, flying in Israel’s his-
toric wars and operations and retiring
with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The nine-day “From Holocaust to
Independence” mission spanned Jewish
history from its darkest moments to its
most triumphant. Israeli soldiers and
Holocaust survivors accompanied the
FIDF supporters on a trip across Poland,
starting in Krakow, once home to more
than 60,000 Jews, and tracing the com-
munity’s steps from the city’s ghetto to the
Buczyna forest, where the Nazis executed
more than 800 children, and then to the
Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and
extermination camps.
The entire delegation then flew to
Israel, where they visited IDF bases and
met soldiers serving on Israel’s front
lines, commemorated Yom HaZikaron —

Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers
and victims of terror — and celebrated
Israel’s 70th Independence Day. The del-
egation met with Israel’s prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, and president,
Reuven Rivlin.
“This historic delegation traces the
modern history of the Jewish people
through the memories of Holocaust sur-
vivors and the eyes of IDF officers,” said
FIDF National Director and CEO Maj.
Gen. (Res.) Meir Klifi-Amir.
“Marching tall and proud into the
dreadful Auschwitz-Birkenau camps
together with IDF officers and the sur-
vivors who somehow endured there, all
while flying the Israeli flag, sends a pow-
erful message to the world that we will
never forget. Thanks to a strong IDF, we
can make sure that the Holocaust cannot
and will not ever happen again.” •

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May 3 • 2018

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