At the March of the Living for Holocaust Remembrance Day, released hostage Eli Sharabi visited the March of the Living, spoke near the Auschwitz crematoria, and called for the release of all 59 hostages.
"The Holocaust was unlike anything else. We will not forget and we will not forgive. The fact that we are here is a victory of the Jewish spirit. The Jewish people will exist forever and ever," he said.
He also said: "The Jewish people sanctify life and not death. It is forbidden to violate the unspoken agreement between the state and its citizens, and we must bring all the hostages home."
President Herzog said at the ceremony: "Out of six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, three million were Polish. This is an unfathomable number. In just six years, almost entirely on occupied Polish soil, by the Nazis, their helpers and partners, one of the most magnificent Jewish communities in history was destroyed. Both my wife and I are descendants of this huge community."
Herzog talked about the hostages held in Gaza and said: "With a broken heart, I remind us all that although after the Holocaust we vowed 'never again', today, while we are here, the soul of dozens of Jews is once again caged and thirsty for water and freedom. When 59 of our brothers and sisters are in the hands of murderers in Gaza, in a terrible and horrific crime against humanity." Herzog called for the release of the hostages.
A delegation of Holocaust survivors, survivors of the October 7th massacre, and bereaved families joined the march. This year, the March of the Living included several released hostages.
At the central ceremony at the end of the march, Daniel Weiss, a resident of Be'eri whose two parents were murdered on October 7, and captivity survivor Agam Berger will perform a duet together. Berger will play on a 130-year-old violin, which she received after returning from captivity. The violin belonged to a Jewish musician who perished in the Holocaust, but the violin survived and made its way to Israel.