Quiet march
Photo: Reuters
Closing the circle
Photo: AP
Rabbi Lau: Ahmadinejad should visit Yad Vashem
Emotional day at Auschwitz: Rabbi Lau speaks at March of the Living ceremony, urges Iranian leader to visit Holocaust museum in Jerusalem; Israeli teenager says event 'proof that Jewish people are here to stay, there will not be another Shoah'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should
visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem in order to overcome his Shoah-denial, Rabbi Yisrael Lau said Tuesday during an emotional speech in Auschwitz.
The speech followed the traditional March of the Living, which saw 7,500 Jewish and non-Jewish teenagers walking along the train tracks that led Jews to their death during World War II.
In his speech, Rabbi Lau slammed Iran's leader for his hatred towards the Jewish people.
Difficult moments (Photo: AP)
"Come to Yad Vashem, we will present you with all the documents, archives, and memories," he said. "We will present you with all the testimonials so that you are convinced there really was a Holocaust."
Shoah deniers do not wish to know the truth, the rabbi added, and therefore they proceed to spread lies.
Rabbi Lau also criticized the lack of international response to the extermination of the Jews during the war. "They did almost nothing in order to put an end to the killing," he said, adding that American presidents chose not to address the Shoah in real time.
"The world's silence is a lesson for humanity," he said. "Next time we must not remain silent."
Turning his attention to present-day developments, Rabbi Lau said the world must take "all those mad, crazy people seriously." He also stressed the importance of maintaining the Jewish tradition, saying that abandoning the faith would make the Nazis triumphant.
Thousands of teenagers take part in march (Photo: AFP)
The march to the death camp was quiet and charged. "We are marching in order to commemorate, and we believe that every Jew is here in his heart," 17-year-old Maya Sadi from Afula told Ynet. "When all of us started to march together, I felt the patriotic atmosphere, especially alongside non-Jews."
Sadi, who participated in the march on behalf of her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor who passed away two years ago, said "we are here to close the circle for him."
Alona Gold, 18, also from Afula, said the march included some difficult moments.
"It's a very difficult experience, to see all the places and try to understand what happened here," she said. "Everything is green and blossoming around us and it's difficult to imagine the horror that took place here. This march needs to be experienced in order to be understood."
