Today is Yom HaShoah. Remembrance day for the victims of the Holocaust. As I lay awake in bed, I wondered what it means to me. How has the events of the Holocaust effected me?

As a child, asking my grandparents about their families was always tense and I could never understand why. I did not understand why asking them about their brothers, sisters and parents was such a tough question. As I got older, I learnt the truth - they had experienced the wickedness of the Nazi's firsthand, they were survivors. I immediately understood. They watched, witnessed, suffered and expeirienced the evils man are capable of, the unthinkable - the situations that we all think can never happen. How could they believe in God? How can they believe in a supreme being who is said to have chosen the Jews as His nation and promised to forever protect them, yet have allowed them to go through such terror and tortue? The faith and love for Judaism that I saw in my grandparents was special, deeply rooted. They always taught me that God has His reasons and we cannot understand them, but do not question them. Never once did their faith in God and belief in Judaism dwindle. Never once did they blame it on God. Never once. I am blessed to have grown up surrounded by such strength, love, faith and inspiration. They have taught me the meaning of true happiness, true beauty, the importance of family, love and laughter. They have instilled in me a willpower and love for the Jewish people and Israel. 

The siren rang. 2 minutes of silence. Commemerating and honoring those murdered by the Nazis. 

At the start of the siren, I cried. I shed tears of hurt, disgust and anger regarding the horrific events of the Holocaust that took place not long ago. As the siren rang on, I found myself stopping to cry, wiping away my tears. Why? Because at that moment, I no longer was overcome by the emotions of anger, I found myself taken over by feelings of strength, fortitude and empowerment.

Standing on my university campus in Israel, am a proof that we have won. We have succeeded to live. We have not given up. I stand here today, fulfilling the dreams my family members died protecting. I stand here today because of the Jewish Resistance against the Nazi regime. I stand here today living the dreams of and for those who are not here today to do so themselves. I am standing in Israel, the Jewish homeland. Our Homeland. Our Country.

NEVER FORGET. NEVER AGAIN.