January 25th, 2019 – Ahead of commemorating the World Holocaust remembrance day,  21 Holocaust survivors who were on the Exodus ship in 1947 were invited to come to the Shalom House in March of Life Villa in Caesarea.

They came from different cities from Israel. The survivors brought books that they had written, pictures, news paper articles and even the identification cards or documents that once belonged to their parents, showing that they were on the Exodus ship 1947.

Together, we commemorated and remembered the people that perished in the Shoah. A  moment of silence was observed and 6 candles were lit to remember the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

One of the volunteers played and sang a song for them, and later a delicious lunch was enjoyed, prepared by the volunteers. At the end of the Shalom House the leader of the Holocaust Survivors Exodus 1947 Organization said: “There were many ships coming to Palestine, but the Exodus is unique, the Exodus is a jewel”.

The Exodus 1947 was a ship that carried 4,500 Jewish immigrants from France to British controlled Palestine on July 11, 1947. Most were Holocaust survivors who had no legal immigration certificates for Palestine. The site of Jewish Holocaust survivors being forcibly relocated to Germany caused an international uproar. The public worldwide was outraged, and the British changed their policy. Illegal immigrants subsequently were not sent back to Europe; they were instead transported to detention camps in Cyprus. The ensuing public embarrassment for Britain played a significant role in the diplomatic swing of sympathy toward the Jewish people and the eventual recognition of the Jewish State in 1948.

Yes, the Exodus is a jewel and a huge miracle. It was a privilege for us to serve some of the survivors that heroically stood their ground and did not give up until they saw their hopes and dreams come true – the State of Israel.