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Michal Amar

My unique journey to Auschwitz

When Professor Mohammed from Morocco asked me how I was feeling, I didn’t know what to answer.

And what can you say after watching tons of hair and shoes of Jewish prisoners, and huge pages filled with small, dense writing of millions of names of Jews who were perished.

Every word I choose will reduce the size of this hell. So I cried, and Muhammad understood and kept silent like I did.

The truth is, I never thought that a Moroccan Muslim would accompany me in my first moments in the land of Auschwitz.

But life is surprising.

Who knew that my decision not to join the trip to Poland with my 11th grade friends would turn out to be the right decision.

This is not only about precise timing, but also about the enormous hope that the Sharaka delegation brought for me as an Israeli Jew. Which is a hope and great news for the entire Middle East as well.

During organizing this delegation, in the moments of logistics, the conversation with the participants, and especially during the visit to Auschwitz and participation in the International March of the Living, I felt how all the participants – influential Muslims from Morocco, Bahrain, Israel and European Arabs, identify with this terrible pain.

And how could it not be. True, it is an event that mainly affected the Jewish people, but it is a human story. And it should go without saying.

But in today’s reality where Muslim countries do not teach the Holocaust at best cases, or deny it at worst – identification with this human pain is not understood at all. The courage of the participants to raise this hope is not taken for granted at all.

The understanding of this difficult reality was already expressed in the March of the Living, in the infinite amount of love that the delegation received from all the visitors. It also warmed the heart to see the excitement of Holocaust survivors witnessing a Muslim delegation raises the flag of Israel and the flag of Morocco on the land of Auschwitz, swear together “never again” – not for the Jewish people, and not for any person in this world.

Still digesting the mixture of sadness, pain, hope and joy that I experienced together with the participants and the good people with whom I organized the expedition.

Thanks for the privilege.

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These words I shared on my Facebook page two years ago, immediately after this delegation concluded, now resonate differently in light of recent events since October 7th. I find myself grappling with profound doubts about this shared human experience. With the world having access to footage from Hamas’ body cameras, which they released proudly while committing heinous acts against Jews, and with some still remaining silent or even supporting Hamas, I have come to a clearer understanding of how the Holocaust transpired.

Propaganda often overshadows the truth. Our brains are incredible tools that can drive personal and societal advancement, but they can also be misused for malevolent purposes under the guise of noble ideals. This is the way evil operates; it doesn’t announce itself with a warning like, “Hello, I’m evil, you’ll get in trouble if you choose my path.” Instead, it seeps into the most virtuous aspirations of humanity—such as peace, equal rights, and true freedom—adopting their language to serve the darkest ends, like committing atrocities against people based on their race or defending the rights of terrorists who rape and murder in the name of occupation.

You have the power to use your mind for good, or allow others to exploit it for their own ends. What will you choose?

 

About the Author
Michal Amar is a graduate of B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Journalism from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Michal is eager to promote peace in the Middle East based on the common ground of Abrahamic faith, working to raise awareness of the rich culture and history of the Jewish people and Israel, and combatting anti-Semitism through social media and articles writing.
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