March (for) the Living: Hundreds to rally in TLV on behalf of survivors

The annual event is in recognition of those survivors who live in Israel alone and in poverty.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Holocaust survivor shows the number that was tattooed on his arm in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust (photo credit: BAZ RATNER/REUTERS)
A Holocaust survivor shows the number that was tattooed on his arm in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust
(photo credit: BAZ RATNER/REUTERS)
One day before the annual and well-known March of the Living takes places in Poland, hundreds of people are expected to march through the streets of Tel Aviv in a different but related rally: “The March for the Living.”
The annual event, which will take place on Wednesday, is in recognition of those survivors who live in Israel alone and in poverty. 
According to the sponsoring NGO, Aviv for Holocaust Survivors, of the estimated 200,000 elderly survivors living in Israel today, approximately one-quarter are living in poverty. Thousands of them do not take advantage of all their rights, whether granted to them by law or under various programs. 
The march will begin at Habima Square with a rally event hosted by actors Uri Gottlieb and Gila Almagor. Participants will then march hand-in-hand with survivors along Rothschild Boulevard.
“On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we all commemorate those who perished in the Holocaust, and on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day we invite you to march together with Holocaust survivors, in order to identify with them, to extend a helping hand and to assist them in any way possible,” said Adv. Aviva Silberman, the founder and head of Aviv.
Habima Theatre is cosponsoring the event. Odelia Friedman, the first woman to serve as general manager of Habima, helped arrange the presence of Almagor and also for singer Amit Farkash to sing the song “Million Stars.” She said that, “We will always remember and not forget, both in culture and in theater, the Holocaust and its horrors."
Aviv survivors and their families to maximize their rights, the realization of which can be the difference between poverty and a life of dignity. The organization provides services free of charge.