The journey began with a tour of the memorial complex in the Yad Lebanim area in Netanya:
The Cattle Car Monument – an original cattle car in which Jews were deported.
The Jewish Soul monument – based on the famous photograph of a Jew (Rabbi Hagerman) wearing a tallis (prayershawl) and tefillin (phylacteries) in the Olkusz pogrom.
Memorial to the Red Army soldiers of World War II.
The group then visited Pentcho Square, named after the illegal immigrant ship Pentcho, which in 1940 traveled the Mediterranean Sea from country to country, and not a single country agreed to accept the Jews on board. In the end, the ship sank. Most of the Jews were saved. They made it to an island and lit bonfires. From there, they were transferred to detention camps on the island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean Sea, and later immigrated to Israel.
The students heard moving stories about the Sanz-Klausenberger Rebbe and Jewish heroism in the Holocaust, watched moving testimonies, such as the story of Kiddush and prayers held in a deathly cattle car, Rabbi Orlean giving lessons to girls in the ghetto, and more.
Finally, they sang “Ani Maamin” (I Believe) to a tune that was composed in a cattle car to Auschwitz.
The trip was exciting and special. The students felt a connection and bond with their people, and had a great time.
After the trip, their teacher, Dror, commented that the students enjoyed it immensely, and from next year it will be a mandatory preparatory tour for anyone going to Poland!
