Shelly Shem Tov, mother of released hostage Omer Shem Tov, says her instinct to come to Auschwitz for March of the Living was correct.
“I was right to come here and hear the stories and see the pictures and the exhibits, of mounds of eyeglasses,” says Shem Tov.
She weeps, says she is thinking about how hostages were taken captive by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023, their glasses taken away from them so that they couldn’t see.
“Or a mother who told her child to hide in a closet during the Holocaust just as they did on October 7,” says Shem Tov.
“People are crying from the tunnels, ‘Save me, save me.’ Omer came back out, others are still calling. We must return them home and repair our nation.”
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate professional journalism
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, during an ongoing war when facts are often distorted and news coverage of Israel often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 24, 2025
