'We are still here': UN marks Int'l Holocaust Remembrance Day

Ruth Haran was among a delegation of Holocaust and October 7 survivors who testified on the UN floor before 100 ambassadors from all over the world on Wednesday. 

A resident of Kibbutz Be’eri and Holocaust survivor, Ruth Haran, said on October 7 in a recorded testimony, "As soon as babies are murdered in their cots, when women are raped, thrown to the ground and murdered brutally the innocents - that is a holocaust!"

Haran’s son Avshalom was murdered on October 7, and her family members are being held captive in Gaza.

Another survivor who testified was Naftali First, a Holocaust survivor from Haifa. His granddaughter, her partner, and their son (Naftali's grandson) hid in a safe room for many hours on October 7. They were rescued by the IDF and fortunately survived the day.

"Each Holocaust survivor represents hope over despair, survival over destruction," said Gideon Taylor, President of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO).

The launch of the photography exhibit

The testimonies were given as part of the Israeli delegation to the UN in collaboration with Kol Israel, Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund (KKL - JNF), and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) during the launch of an exhibition to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the UN. 

At the event, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said, "110 days ago, the Jewish people underwent the most brutal massacre since the Holocaust. Hamas terrorists murdered and burned families alive, shot at revelers at a music festival – it was a genocide. This murder is part of radical Islam's plan to annihilate the Jewish people.”

The Ambassador remarked, “When I stand here and expose the lies against Israel at the UN, I always remember that the ambassador of Babylon no longer exists and the flag of the Roman Empire no longer waves. What still exists? A flag with the Star of David symbol. We are still here.”

The event occurred alongside a photography exhibition entitled "We Are Still Here," which focused on the stories of Holocaust survivors who demonstrated extraordinary resilience and successfully rebuilt their lives. 

The photographs were selected from a collection of about 400 photographs taken by 320 international photographers from 30 different countries. 

The project was initiated by photographers Jim Hollander and Rina Castelnuovo and compiled into a book by KKL-JNF in memory of the Holocaust survivors.

“The history of the Jewish people is full of suffering and horror. But the chronicles of the Jewish people are not the history of disturbances: they are the history of resurrections. They are the history of growth, shaking off the dust, and hope for the future," commented the Chairwoman of KKL - JNF, Yifat Ovadia-Luski. 

Ovadia-Luski added, "Anyone who reads the special book we are launching today at the UN building will see this hope in the eyes of the Holocaust survivors. On every page shine the lives that these wonderful people have recreated. They have rebuilt their families, rebuilt their communities, and established the State of Israel. This is the real victory of the Jewish people over the Nazis."

At the end of the exhibition tour, ambassadors from Sweden, Ukraine, Hungary, Malta, Moldova, Tuvalu, Guatemala, Palau, Romania, Honduras, and the Marshall Islands joined Israeli Ambassador Erdan in lighting candles for the Shem VeNer Association.

The Shem VeNer Association aims to continue the memory of the Holocaust for future generations and promotes the tradition of lighting a personal memorial candle on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day. 

Each candle bears a label with the personal details of a person who perished in the Holocaust, as well as a QR code that links to a website where information about that person can be read. 

The Association's website contains a database of over 400,000 names submitted by the public – survivors, family members, and acquaintances of the victims, as well as young school students – serving as the source for the names printed on the labels.

The founder of Shem VeNer, Alicia Yacoby stated, "It's important to remember, but equally important that world leaders remember – it is forbidden to allow such war crimes, it is forbidden to allow genocide as happened in the Holocaust and on October 7th. In this vein, we strengthen the families of the captives, the bereaved families, and the soldiers in the field – together we will prevail, Am Yisrael Chai (the people of Israel live)."