Gantz recalls his Holocaust survivor mother’s story as Knesset memorial begins

The Knesset’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day memorial begins with a speech by Blue and White’s Benny Gantz, whose parents were survivors.

He recalls his childhood in Kfar Ahim, where many residents were Holocaust survivors, but few spoke about it.

“Only later would my parents allow themselves to tell the story. I remember one moment, when my mother told my daughter Noga about the last days and hours in Bergen Belsen, before the liberation. She was then 16 or 17, a shadow of a girl, who weighed 28 kilogram (61 lbs). And when my daughter asked her ‘how did you hold on?’ she answered, ‘I wanted to see how it ends.’ She saw the ending and was part of the building of the State of Israel.”

He says Israel has an obligation to protect and assist its Holocaust survivors, particularly now, during the pandemic, when many are left alone.

He also addresses the unity government deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says he has taken “upon myself the mission to protect democracy, since I believe it is the source of our power as a society” and says he wants to unify Israelis.