Tzvika Kaplan Hy"d in Poland
Tzvika Kaplan Hy"d in PolandHezki Baruch

Arutz Sheva reporter Hezki Baruch found this morning in the Arutz Sheva picture archive the picture of army captain Tzvika Kaplan, Hy”d (may G-d avenge his blood), who fell in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.

The picture, in which Tzvika can be seen with Holocaust survivor Menachem Sandovsky, was taken during a trip to Poland as part of “Witnesses in Uniform,” the army delegation to scenes from the Holocaust.

The picture was given to Kaplan’s family and, in reaction, Adi, Kaplan’s widow, wrote the following words:

“Where are there still people like that...and that…

One picture

Full of strength

On the 28th of the month of Nissan [the number 28 written with Hebrew letters also means ‘strength’]

Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day was postponed [if the 27th of Nissan was to fall on Sunday, it is postponed to Monday so that the beginning of the Day does not interfere with the end of the Sabbath on Saturday night]

The 28th of Nissan

The birthday of Captain Tzvika Kaplan Hy”d

Who fell at 28 years of age.

And one picture

On accursed land

With two heroes

In whose merit we have a state here

On holy land.

Two heroes

Who were brought for burial

On that same holy land

Fighting for the Nation

And we live here in their merit

Full of strength and and comfort.”

Tzvika Kaplan was killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Holocaust survivor Menachem Sandovsky died last year. The two set out together with the Witnesses in Uniform trip in 2013.

After returning to Israel at the end of the trip, Kaplan related his impressions upon hearing that a concluding ceremony that was to have taken place at the Western Wall in Jerusalem had been cancelled.

“When we landed we were told that the ceremony would not be taking place at the Western Wall because a demonstration between ‘Women of the Wall’ and those opposing them was taking place there. I was angry at that moment, and thought how it could be that we had already forgotten what we had been through 70 years before? Are these really the wars we should be fighting, amongst ourselves? The Nation of Israel is torn and divided. Left-wingers and right-wingers, Sephardim and Ashkenazim, religious and secular.

“The trip emphasized for me how important it is for us to be united and know how to accept the other despite our differences - because the other option we experienced 70 years ago in Europe.

“Appreciating the good - it’s hard to imagine the suffering experienced by those Jews who were thrown into the ghettos, suffered from hunger, and worked in hard labor. It’s impossible to understand the inner suffering that a child had after discovering that his entire family had been murdered.

“But people like Menachem Sandovsky - a “witness” of the delegation - stand proud, smile, and emphasize the good which they experienced with the founding of the state, the raising of amazing families, while standing with IDF officers on Polish ground at the death camps.

“These incredible people obligate us to take things in life in the correct proportion, to know how to see the glass as half full and acknowledge the good things in our private and national life.

“This point is true for me particularly with respect to our approach to the state. Sometimes you hear accusations which come with harsh statements and unusual actions (from all sectors) against the state. We need to remember not to lose spirit during the hard times. We need to remember that this reality - in which the Nation of Israel has a state after 2,000 years of exile, is not something to be taken for granted and, despite the difficulties, this is a reality which our nation waited for for hundreds of years - and we must guard it.”