MK Rabbi Eichler, Ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day: Preservation of Jewish Life Is the Answer

​As part of the events held in the Knesset on Tuesday ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be marked worldwide on Thursday, the Labor and Welfare Committee convened to discuss the state of Holocaust survivors and second-generation Holocaust survivors who are economically dependent on their parents due to a mental or physical disability.

Committee Chairman MK Rabbi Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism) opened the meeting by saying, “The Holocaust is a very broad concept, certainly too broad for the human soul to grasp. There has never been any other nation that the world’s nations declared should be annihilated. This declaration was based on an ancient anti-Semitic tradition that stems from the fact that Hashem chose the Jewish people as the chosen people. This led to jealousy and hatred on the part of the world’s nations. The plot did not work, but the price was extremely heavy. Our Jewish identity is the key component in the victory over the Nazis.”

Rabbi Eichler said it is the state’s duty to do whatever it takes to support the Holocaust survivors. “We are living in a time when the number of Holocaust survivors is steadily dwindling, and we do not have a lot of time left to exercise our privilege and obligation to help them,” he said.

“In the chareidi communities, everyone knows the ancient names of the towns in which full Jewish life existed, a life of Torah and Chassidus for many generations. It is due to this that we were able to form a generation of people who proudly wear the crown of Judaism without surrendering to the culture of the nations. To this day, we carry with pride and awe the names of these towns, where the Chassidic dynasties and holy yeshivos existed. Furthermore, the children carry the names of their grandfathers and grandmothers and preserve their Jewish identity by not changing their names, speech or dress. I suggest that all those who want to commemorate their ancestors proudly name their children after their grandfathers and grandmothers,” Rabbi Eichler said.

A representative of an organization that supports second-generation Holocaust survivors called to increase the stipend given to first-degree relatives of second-generation Holocaust survivors who are economically dependent on their parents due to their disabilities.