We were very excited and privileged to host Holocaust survivors from Rishon Lezion at the Western Wall. The survivors came to celebrate the bar/bat mitzvah they were unable to celebrate in their youth during the Holocaust.
Throughout the year, we host Holocaust survivors at the Western Wall and the Tunnels in collaboration with the Claims Conference. We hear their stories, embrace them, empower them, and celebrate with them the bar/bat mitzvah they didn’t have as children.
These encounters are a huge privilege for us. We will continue to be there with them and for them, to pass their stories on from generation to generation.
We tour the Western Wall Tunnels or the Chain of Generations – a magnificent display along the Jewish nation’s chain of generations from Abraham to modern days. Together with IDF soldiers who join for part of the ceremony, we honor the memory of the Holocaust and its victims. We salute the survivors and celebrate their bar mitzvah with putting on tefillin and a special aliya to the Torah. The event ends with a festive meal and a beautiful personalized certificate for every survivor as a souvenir of the event.