“See, there were communities and they are no more: the Jewish community and its destruction” – these are the state events for Holocaust Remembrance Day and Heroism

The six luminaries of the torches at the state rally to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and Heroism at Yad Vashem were announced today (Thursday). The rally will be held on Sunday evening, May 5, 2024, at 8:00 p.m., in the presence of the President of the State of Israel and the Prime Minister, dignitaries and Holocaust survivors. The main theme of the ceremony will be “See, there were communities and they are no more: the Jewish community and its destruction”.

These are the beacon lights:

Aryeh Itani – Born in Milan, Italy, in 1927, the son of immigrants from Hungary. On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, the Jews with foreign citizenship were forced to leave Italy, and his family returned to Hungary and lived in the city of Eger. In 1944 he was deported to Auschwitz, and all the family members were murdered in the gas chambers except him. He was transferred from Auschwitz to the Kaufering camp and worked in forced labor. With the evacuation of the Kaufering camp, the prisoners were taken on a death march. He arrived at the Olach camp, and was freed after the US military liberated the camp, and returned to the camp. In 1946, he boarded the immigration ship “Knesset Israel”, and in 1947 he arrived in Israel. He enlisted in the defense and fought in the War of Independence, and later was one of the founders of Kibbutz Ha’on. He married Rena, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, and the latter gave birth to two children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Michael Bar-On (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Michael Bar-On – Born in Krakow, Poland, in 1932, son of a Hasidic family. With the occupation of Kraków by the Germans in September 1939, the occupiers abused the father of the family Chaim and tore off his beard and sideburns. In 1941 the family was put into the Krakow ghetto and from there they were moved to the town of Mindsiziec Podalski, where they lived in a stable. Michael’s cousin, Bronka, came to Mindszczecin Podlaskie disguised as a Christian and fled Michael and all his brothers to her town Brigel, and from there he moved to the Buchnia ghetto, from there to the town of Pivnicena and the city of Kosice in Hungary. They moved to Budapest and in 1944 tried to escape to Njord, but were put in the ghetto there. They ran away from him and arrived in Romania. From there they sailed to Istanbul, and in July 1944 they arrived by train in Israel. He studied at an Agudath Israel educational institution in Magdiel, served as a guide for young Holocaust survivors, enlisted in the IDF and served in command positions, including head of the marriage and burial branch during the Yom Kippur War. Michael and Leahia have three children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Raisa Brodsky (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Raisa Brodsky – Born in Shregorud, Ukraine, in 1937, to a traditional family. With the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in June 1941, the restaurant where the father worked was looted. Her parents were employed in forced labor. Jews expelled from Bessarabia and Bucovina in northeastern Romania were brought into the Shargorod ghetto. Thus, a refugee family was added to the family home, and the crowding increased. In March 1944, the Red Army liberated Shargorod. Raisa studied math and drawing and worked as a math teacher. She taught at a school managed by the brother of the Ukrainian partisan Grichanyi, who worked with her father during the Holocaust. In 1990, with the opening of the gates of the Soviet Union for free immigration, she fulfilled her father’s dream with her family and immigrated to Israel. She began to act as a witness in the “Memory” Holocaust Survivors Association, and was in contact with the students who heard her testimony. She shares her memories with them and helps them with their history studies. Raisa and Samion have two children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Allegra Gutta (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Allegra Guetta – Born in Benghazi, Libya, in 1928. In April 1941, with the withdrawal of the British from Benghazi and before the arrival of the Italian military forces, some residents of Benghazi rioted with the Jews of the city and robbed Jewish shops and homes. At the beginning of 1942, the Italians deported most of the Benghazi Jews, about 3,000 of them, to the Jado concentration camp, more than a thousand kilometers west of Benghazi, in the heart of the Libyan desert. Among the deportees were Allegra and her entire family, except for her two older brothers Yosef and Reuven who fled, enlisted in the British army and served in Italy and the Land of Israel. In 1943, the British liberated the Jado camp. Allegra and her family returned to Benghazi. In September 1948, the family fled in the dead of night to Tripoli and with the help of the Jewish Agency was transferred to Naples in Italy. From there the family members traveled by train to Milan. In November 1948, the family sailed from Bari in Italy to Israel on the ship “Tetti”. The family moved to an immigrant house in Binyamina, from there – to Old Jaffa and after about a year – to Holon. In April 1952 Allegra married the late Aharon Gino Gutta and they settled in Tel Aviv. Allegra and the late Aharon Gino Gutta have two children, three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Panina Hafer (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Pinina Hafer – Born in Nushpalau, Romania, to a family of 21 children. In 1940 the area was transferred to Hungarian control. When the Germans entered Hungary in March 1944, decrees and humiliations were inflicted on the Jews. The family members were taken to the Silageshomi ghetto. Three weeks later the family was deported to Auschwitz. Most of the family members were murdered in the gas chambers, and she was left with her sister Bluma. At the end of 1944, Panina and Bluma were transferred to Bergen-Belsen. They were transferred to forced labor in an arms factory in Zalzwedel, and on April 14, 1945, they were released by the United States Army soldiers. They moved to Yugoslavia, and in November 1946 they sailed on the immigration ship “Knesset Israel”. They were deported to Cyprus and in September 1947 they arrived at the Atlit camp. Upon her release, Panina went to Jerusalem and studied at a teacher’s seminar. She married Jacob, and together they went on a security and educational mission in Tunisia. Some time later, the couple taught at a Jewish school in Argentina, and when they returned to Israel, Panina managed the state-religious school “Mashuat” in Bnei Brak. Panina is an active witness, and every year she celebrates the day of her release with the whole family. Penina and Yaakov gave birth to three daughters, 16 grandchildren and more than 45 great-grandchildren. Their three daughters continue the tradition and are teachers in Israel.

Izzy Cavillo (Photo: Yad Vashem)

Izzy Caviglio – Born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, 1928. He was a member of the “Hashomer HaTsair” youth movement and sang in the children’s choir at the city’s Great Synagogue. In January 1941, a few months before the German invasion, Izzy was going to leave for Israel as part of the youth immigration, but under pressure from his grandmother and mother, he canceled his trip. In April 1941, the Germans occupied Yugoslavia. In September 1941, the Ustashe, the Croatian nationalists who ruled the independent state of Croatia under the auspices of the Germans, deported Izzi’s grandparents to the Jasenovac camp, where they were murdered. Eberhard came to the house of Izzi and his parents, accompanied them to his house, hid them in the basement, got them fake identity documents and smuggled them to the city of Mostar, which was under Croatian civil control and Italian military control. From Mostar, the family members continued and fled to the city of Split, from where they were deported to a concentration camp near Dubrovnik. In March 1942 they were deported to a concentration camp on the island of Rab. After Italy surrendered to the Allies in September 1943, anti-Nazi partisans raided the island and transported the Jews in boats to the mainland. Izzy and his parents arrived in the area of ​​Croatia, which had been liberated by the partisans. They went up to the mountains and lived there among the partisans, and Izzy even fought in their ranks. The father prepared a Hebrew calendar to mark the holidays. In December 1948 the family immigrated to Israel. Izzy enlisted in the IDF and served in a combat unit. He studied architecture at the Technion and became an architect. For years he was active in immigration, absorption and commemoration and served as chairman of the Association of Immigrants of Yugoslavia. To this day, Izzi is a witness who tells his story in front of diverse audiences in Yad Vashem. Izzy and his partner were blessed with two daughters, Anat and Gilia, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, a rally will be held at 19:30 at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, in the presence of the President of the State and the Chairman of the Opposition. The closing rally for the Holocaust Remembrance Day events will be held on Monday, May 6, 2024, at 20:00 at the Ghetto Fighters’ House. The ceremony will mark 80th anniversary of the extermination of Hungarian Jewry.