September 25th, 2018 – 16 Holocaust survivors from Holon enjoyed a Sukkot Shalom House celebration in the March of Life Villa in Caesarea. Sukkot is a Jewish 8-day holiday full of joy and fellowship. So days before the event, volunteers from Germany, Romania, Belarus and Colombia built and decorated the Sukkah (tabernacle, temporary dwelling) to create a special atmosphere for the Sukkot Shalom House.

Two German women shared their stories and after listening, two survivors stood up and also shared theirs. A teenager from Germany played several Jewish songs with her great-grandmother’s violin. This touched a lot the survivors.

We all enjoyed a great lunch together and a time of fellowship sitting inside and in front of the sukkah. It was a wonderful time to take pictures, to enjoy each other’s company while having coffee, fruit and a special ice cream dessert.

This is the time when over the country you see families and friends sitting and eating together, but unfortunately this is impossible for many Holocaust survivors because they do not have family any more or because their children are not in Israel. So this is exactly what they enjoyed the most in this Shalom House – “the family atmosphere”.