Schoolchildren throw birthday party for Holocaust survivor
Yehoshua Verashavski was moved to tears when he found ninth graders had thrown a surprise party in his Ashkelon home; ‘This is one of the happiest moments of my life. I’ll never forget you.’
Verashavski, 87, struggled to hide his emotion from the singing schoolchildren as tears of joy began to trickle down his face while he expressed his gratitude to the children for their initiative.
“This is one of the happiest moments of my life, to know that my city’s students remember and respect the people who did everything to survive and to found our state. I will never forget you,” an emotional Verashavski promised.
The connection between the students and Verashavski was established as part of The Memory in the Living Room project, in which Holocaust survivors and their families come into people's living rooms and tell their personal stories.
Last Holocaust Remembrance Day, Verashavski were hosted, along with his wife Chaya, by Guy and Galit Binyamin, the parents of one of the students called Ofir.
Verashavski left a deep impression on the participants with his life story in which he recounted the horrors he witnessed during the Holocaust and told of his conscription into the Palmach and his life in Israel.
Guy Binyamin, who is also the chairman of the Parents’ Committee of the class, maintained contact with Yehoshua and Chaya, and organized the surprise party.
Together with the students and the class teacher July Cohen, they surprised the Verashavskis in their home, where they presented him with a large cake, balloons and a picture on which was written: “Your smile, our victory.”
