Twelve Israel Air Force bases across the country on Tuesday welcomed some 10,000 Holocaust survivors, who met with soldiers and commanders, heard lectures about the air force and viewed the different aircraft used by the Israeli military. Over the course of the day, there were plenty of emotional moments. IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, who initiated the project, attended some of the events in person, carrying a letter written by an ultra-Orthodox IDF officer immediately following a trip to Auschwitz, from which he read excerpts: "It is impossible to put into words the experience we went through when visiting the sites and the killing pits," Eshel read from the letter. "Several eyebrows were raised, asking 'What? You serve in the army-' and we replied, 'Yes, this is where it was proven that we share a single fate.'" Yehoshua, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor from Hadera, did not imagine how emotional he would be when he toured the Sde Dov base alongside his 24-year-old pilot granddaughter. He was as giddy as a boy as he got to walk among the various aircraft. He is very familiar with all of them, back from when his son served as a fighter pilot. "This was a special day," he said. "We stood together -- a group of senior citizens who were nothing 60 years ago -- and who would have dreamed that we would stand all together one day with our children serving in the IDF in such an empowering and moving standing. This is certainly a victory of life." Yehoshua's granddaughter, R., added that "it is important to take with us the values that connect us to the military. We have the duty, and the privilege of passing the torch forward." The project was overseen jointly by the Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel, the Senior Citizens Ministry, Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and the Joint Distribution Committee-Israel.
Israel's air force bases welcome thousands of Holocaust survivors
Israel Air Force commander personally attends events at several bases across Israel where 10,000 Holocaust survivors spend day learning about the IAF and mingling with soldiers and commanders • This was a special day, says one survivor.
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