The Jewish Community of Greater MetroWest’s involvement with March of the Living began in 1990 with Dr. Howard Chaim Lauer the then director of the Jewish Education Association of MetroWest.

I was brought in to help with recruitment and staffing in 1996, however was not able to join the group because I was Director of the 1996 JCCA Maccabi Youth Games that Summer.

In 1998 I joined the group as the Assistant and in 2000 I became the Regional Director.

Through the next 24 years we expanded to include New York, Pennsylvania and New England, and with the Yeshivot in New York and New Jersey. We also teamed up with the Jewish communities of Cincinnati, Columbus, Australia, and Bogota, Columbia. 2024 will be my 24th Journey.

Special for ’24 March, we will be the only USA group continuing to Israel:

On Shabbat in Krakow we will meet with a Nova Concert survivor.

Each year we visit the Krakow Shuls where our alumni’s survivor grandparents prayed before the war.

Once in Israel, we will spend time volunteering on a farm upon arrival – being a Chalutz.
Meeting with High School students in Migdal on Erev Yom Hazikaron who’ve traveled to Poland and are going to enlist in the IDF shortly.

We stand alongside our Israeli brothers and sisters for the Siren on Erev Yom Hazikaron and during the day as well.

As NY Metropolitan area Residents, we visit the 9/11 Memorial in Jerusalem (the only one outside the USA), there we see the names of people we knew.

We also have our annual Yad LaKashish visit.

Our Journal with reading and poems written by some of our Alumni.

Written by Joel Katz, Director, March of the Living Northeastern USA

Joel Katz in the Shul at Tykocin in 2010