Yarden Bibas and Otto Frank: Two Stories

Yarden Bibas and Otto Frank: Two Stories of the Same People

Otto Frank was a German Jewish father who lost his daughters in Auschwitz. Yarden Bibas is an Israeli Jewish father who lost his two young children in Gaza at the hands of Hamas. Both have suffered immense losses, finding themselves alone, forced to go on surviving.

Otto Frank published a diary from his daughter Anne, a diary that became a symbol of hope and love.

Yarden Bibas has just learned of the death of his children.

The Holocaust and October 7th are inextricably linked in a whirlwind of dark and deafening pain. We must not forget the victims of the Holocaust, we must not forget the victims of October 7th. We must not forget Yarden Bibas and his family.

At this moment, Jews all over the world are the family of Yarden Bibas. We are all united in his pain. We are all united in remembering Ariel and Kfir.
We will not forget them. We will not forget Yarden Bibas. We will not forget anyone.

The Jewish people around the world are more united than ever in the fight against hatred since October 7th. An ancient people, a people who have suffered persecution and discrimination in every era and every place. But they have never surrendered. They have always fought for survival, for identity, for dignity.

Today, we are once again called to fight. Hatred is spreading in the world—hatred against Jews, the same hatred that led to the Holocaust and to October 7th.
The story of Yarden Bibas reminds us that the fight against hatred is a battle that concerns us all. We are responsible for ensuring that memory becomes a weapon to fight hate. We are all called to do our part.

We were after 1945, and we are today in 2025.

Shabbat Shalom.