The liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp occurred on January 27, 1945. Auschwitz, located in Nazi-occupied Poland, was the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers. Over 1.1 million men, women, and children lost their lives there. There were about 7,000 survivors still there. 

Every year, I spend time thinking of that day on my birthday. But this year, it is different. This year, I am also thinking of the atrocities that were committed on October 7 by Hamas and by the citizens of Gaza (many of them have blood on their hands). It was the largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust.  

Before the rise of the Nazis, approximately 9.5 million Jews were living in Europe. They killed two-thirds of them, six million men, women and children. Of those that survived, about 700,000 immigrated to Israel. Now, there are only about 1,500,000 million Jews in Europe. Hitler got his wish to rid Europe of Jews. Half the world’s Jewish population is in Israel, Where Iran and its proxies try to eradicate them. But they are supported by hateful and antisemitic people around the globe. When people say “from the river to the sea,” they mean the eradication of the only Jewish state, Israel. They call Israel a genocidal country, not even understanding what that term means, while they themselves call for the eradication of the Jewish state. 

Today is my birthday, but I can’t celebrate it. I mourn the loss of those who were brutally murdered on October 7, the hostages living in the concentration camp of tunnels built by Hamas, and the death of so many of my dreams for Israel. I also think about the loss and pain of the people of Gaza, who have been so poorly served by their leaders, who cynically forced Israel into taking the actions it has and will have to continue to take.