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Survivors to light torch against antisemitism with U.S. Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun and Sylvan Adams President of the World Jewish Congress – Israel; Holocaust survivor Irene Shashar and former hostages to light torch dedicated to the State of Israel

New York – April 12, 2026 – Despite the ongoing war with Iran, approximately 7,000 participants, including students, young professionals, and adults from dozens of countries, will take part in the International March of the Living in Poland on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, April 14, marching between the Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps. This year, the March will be led by 50 Holocaust survivors from around the world, joined by a limited delegation of 10 survivors from Israel, aged 90–100, who were brought to Poland at the last minute following a ceasefire, after a significant investment of resources and with the support of 26 Israeli high-tech companies and venture capital funds, despite ongoing uncertainty and frequent changes to airspace restrictions.

Phyllis Greenberg Heideman, President of International March of the Living: “During these difficult times, as the State of Israel stands firm against those seeking its destruction, while waves of antisemitism intensify worldwide, the March of the Living takes on even greater significance. Despite the limitations imposed by the recent war with Iran, a limited delegation of Holocaust survivors from Israel, together with dozens of survivors from around the world who experienced firsthand the attempt to annihilate the Jewish people, will march in Poland—instilling, now more than ever, a spirit of pride and resilience for the State of Israel and the entire Jewish people.”

This year’s March will take place under the theme of combating antisemitism, which has surged to unprecedented levels since October 7, echoing the scale seen in the years preceding the Holocaust.

Accompanied by survivors of recent deadly acts of antisemitism,  Sylvan Adams, President of the World Jewish Congress Israel and a second-generation Holocaust survivor, will lead 2026 the March: Eva Wietzen, survivor of the Hanukkah massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, in which 15 people were killed, including her husband Tibor Wietzen and her close friend Edith Brutman; Yoni Finley, who was injured in an antisemitic attack on Yom Kippur while in  synagogue in Manchester, UK; and Catherine Szkop and Abbie Talmoud, professional staff at the Embassy of Israel in Washington and, survivors of the DC shooting attack in which their colleagues Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky were murdered.

The four will light the first torch during the ceremony dedicated to combating antisemitism, together with the United States. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun.

A delegation of 130 law enforcement officials, intelligence agencies, and police chiefs from dozens of countries will also march against the rising tide of global antisemitism and commit to reinforced protection in their jurisdictions.  Representatives of this trans-national delegation will light a torch symbolizing their commitment to protect their constituents from acts of antisemitism and all hate crimes.

Holocaust survivor Irene Shashar, former hostages Agam Berger and Omri Miran, and bereaved father Rabbi Shmuel Slotki, who lost his two sons, Noam and Yishai, on October 7 in the battle at Kibbutz Alumim will light the torch dedicated to the State of Israel during the closing ceremony.

The Torch of Rebirth at the closing ceremony in Birkenau will be lit by Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann of New York, who served in the Air Force after WWII, together with Avi Dickstein, Vice Chairman of the March of the Living.

This marks the 38th year of the global March of the Living, which since its inception has become the largest international Holocaust remembrance event held on Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day. The March, spanning 3.2 kilometers between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-and Birkenau, serves as a march of remembrance, victory, and continuity in contrast to the death marches, and honors those who perished in the Holocaust and the survivors who endured Nazi brutality.