by Ilana Linder
No matter how finely detailed I present my experience in Israel and Poland or how many of my over 2000 pictures from the trip I show you, there will always be something missing, something that not even the best constructed essay or professional photos can capture. You could read innumerable books and hear thousands of different Holocaust survivors' testimonies, but you really can not even begin to imagine the feeling that runs through your body until you actually experience it for yourself.
Before this trip, I had been to Israel once with six of my classmates from Yavneh Day School. We were there for two weeks, and I thought I knew everything about Israel. I was completely wrong. The Partnership Experience was not just about touring around Israel like I had done on my previous trip there. No, instead, this trip was also about really getting an experience of what Israeli life is like. We were given the amazing opportunity to travel around both Israel and Poland with teenagers from Netanya, our sister city in Israel. We formed friendships that will last forever, and we had more fun together than you would ever think possible. To continue the bond that we formed, some of the Israelis that we met will be coming to Cincinnati for Hanukkah this year, and we are all highly anticipating reuniting with our friends that live so far away.
Going into this trip, I was very excited to return to Israel. Poland… not so much. I told my mother before the trip that I would not enjoy my sixteenth birthday because we were going to be in Poland, a place that I thought would be extremely depressing. Ironically, that part of this trip influenced me the most.
Poland had profound effects on each and every one of the participants, American and Israeli. I remember one particular instance that moved me in a way I can not fully describe. In Block 27 at Auschwitz 1, we had a ceremony. Together we all sat in a darkened room, and individually, one by one, lit a candle for a person that died during the Holocaust. Soon, the room was lit solely by these small candles. By the time the final candle was lit, almost everyone was in tears. I do not believe I had ever, or will ever, cry as much as I did in that room. We lit about 45 candles, and that was enough to light the room so we could slightly make out the faces of our friends, which each had tears flowing down their faces. Razi, who coordinated the trip, said a few words that I will carry with me forever. He told us that in this room, we can not tell who lit which candle, nor differentiate between the tears of the Israelis and those of the Americans. Although we were different from each other in many ways, we came together as proud Jews, united as one.
Throughout the entire time in Poland, 1 thought always came to my mind. Imagine if I were living during the Holocaust. I now really appreciate how fortunate I am to be a Jew in today's society. On the plane ride back to Israel from Poland, a renewed sense of pride overcame me. I had been on numerous plane rides before, but this takeoff from Poland to Israel felt different. As we took off, I thought to myself just how incredibly lucky I was to be able to make this flight to Eretz Israel, the homeland for the Jewish People. There are so many people that never got past Poland or got to experience the exhilaration of going to their homeland as I did. When we landed back on Israeli soil everyone on our trip was overcome with happiness and clapped at our return with a renewed sense of appreciation for our Jewish state.
You can ask any person to describe our trip in their own words, and you will probably get over forty different answers: "a time of a lifetime," "amazing," "outstanding," "mind-blowing," "eye-opening". But for me, the first word that comes to my mind is "Priceless." The memories that I hold inside of me will carry with me forever, and we need not a single picture or video to remind us. Nor will we ever forget what happened during the Holocaust. Before the trip, I was required to write a sophomore paper on any topic of my choice. I chose to write mine on Holocaust denial, and so felt an even deeper effect by what I experienced in Poland. It is up to the people of today to make sure that people not only believe the Holocaust happened, but also stand up to any claims denying it. Soon, there will no longer be any survivors to give their testimonies, nor will the evidence at the camps still be in tact, and that is when deniers will really move in. We must be strong against these threats, and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. Like I said, this trip was not just about touring around the state of Israel. It was about something much deeper. Not only did we get to experience Israeli lifestyle, but we also learned about the history of the Jewish State, as well as the history of the Jewish people, which go hand in hand to account for the present.
Before going on the trip, I was asked whether I considered myself as an "American Jew," or a "Jewish American." At first I thought I would be an American Jew, for I do live in America, and I am proud to be an American. However, now, without a doubt, I consider myself to be a Jewish American. My loyalty to my Jewish faith is so much stronger than anything else. I can go anywhere in the world, but I will still be a Jew, and that is something that I am very proud of, as every Jewish person should be that is living today. I also encourage each and every person to experience what I did in their life-both Israel and Poland. It will change your life forever!