Holocaust survivors in Israel are now well cared for in their old age by various local organizations – including Christians Standing with Israel (CSI). However, a personal encounter with people from Germany is always something special – and for some, a new and healing experience. At the end of October, an opportunity arose for a larger event with the CSI board, who were in Jerusalem for a conference.
By Anemone Rüger
I just barely manage to pay for the flowers for tomorrow at Erez's before closing time. Sixty bouquets. The florist almost tears up when he thanks us for our large order. His shop is on Emek-Refaim Street, which has been plagued by construction chaos for months due to the new north-south tram line. We've probably saved him a little.
Our meeting the following day is being hosted by the Israel Holocaust Survivors' Affairs Authority, together with the Friends of Zion Museum. The venue was chosen deliberately: Here, Israeli visitors learn about the non-Jewish supporters of the Jewish people. We bring a message and flowers – and hearts full of love for the Holocaust survivors we are privileged to meet today.
Half an hour before the start, the courtyard is already beginning to fill up. Here and there we recognize someone from Café Europa. Our dear Mejer from Poland, Aharon the dancer. One floor up, the table is set with appetizers, fruit, and drinks. Harry has brought a gift for all the German guests: a sun hat for the women, a kippah for the men. It's astonishing to see how many conversations develop in German – so many picked up German in their childhood or even spoke it as their mother tongue, in Berlin, in Austria, and even in the then German-speaking Bukovina in present-day Ukraine.
Ronit Rozin, the agency's director, greets the CSI delegation with such warm words, as if we had known each other forever. She looks up from her notes and recounts how deeply she was touched by the visit of the volunteers from a CSI aid trip in the summer – and how impressed she was that the bouquets for the war-evacuated survivors, who had been moved to a hotel, had been ordered with a vase.
Words that touch the heart
Luca Hezel speaks for CSI, quoting Isaiah 60 about the "sons of the oppressors" who will bow down before the Jewish people, and about how, according to the prophets, the best is yet to come. About how we are here to tell Israel: You are not alone. Now the musician Schachar Schuman comes on stage, and before he captivates the audience with the nostalgic songs of the early years, he wants to say something. "No one has moved me emotionally in a long time," says Schachar. "But Luca did it. If I weren't Jewish, I would join his congregation! My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor from Berlin..."
“Fight the fires of hatred in Europe, don’t remain silent!” 95-year-old Mejer urges us. “And what I also want to tell you: You bear no guilt for what happened back then. You are the next generation. You are free.” Luca gives Mejer the first bouquet of red roses. Then Schachar sings, and the hall joins in. Soon, the rows begin to move, and the Holocaust survivors gather us in the center and begin to dance. This is how it should be, this is how our Father in Heaven would have wanted it.
We seize the special moment, and soon the room is filled with hugs and flowers. "It was so incredibly moving," Ronit says at the end. "I watched the survivors—how you embraced them! Many were moved to tears! And for me, too, this is something personal. My grandmother came from Berlin; her family perished. And now to experience this! It wasn't just an event for me, but a profound encounter with friends!"
This article first appeared in our newspaper "Israelaktuell," issue 143. You can order the newspaper here . We would also be happy to send you several copies for distribution.
