On behalf of the International March of the Living Board of Directors, we want to take a moment to wish each of you a happy, healthy, freilich and zissen Pesach filled with an abundance of love and renewed spirit for the future.
Passover, one of the three Jewish Festivals celebrated each year, commemorates our liberation and emancipation from slavery under Pharoah and our birth as a nation under the leadership of Moses. Immediately after sharing this holiday with family and friends, We look forward to welcoming each of you and your delegations from around the globe to Poland on the 2023 International March of the Living educational journey.
The times in which we are living pose a plethora of challenges on a multitude of levels. We are faced with daily incidents of antisemitism in our communities, our schools and even in our own backyards. It is clear that our message of tolerance and our mission to do all we can to combat antisemitism resonates clearly. Our work today is perhaps more important than ever. The next generation is confronted with seemingly overwhelming odds threatening their very survival. Yet, survive we must. It is incumbent on each of us to do all we can to assist in our communal pursuit of a better tomorrow.
If only we had all the answers. We of course do not. But even in our own consternation and confusion, we must rise together to face the obstacles before us. Memory is at stake and the voice of reason, truth and veracity is longing to be heard.
Despite the trying times of the day, we have been involved in a myriad of diverse and meaningful programming and events in communities around the globe. Our list of applications for participation is once again commanding and steadily on the rise and with the support of our ever-increasing donor base, there is little doubt that we will continue to make a difference in the future of Holocaust memory, education and legacy. The lives we touch and the difference we make through the March of the Living education and experience helps to ensure that our history will be remembered and those who perished will not be forgotten.
The great strides we make annually come through the partnerships we establish, the events we hold, our devoted volunteers in each community and through our diligent efforts to expand our horizons to demographics who will align with the work we do. We could not achieve the goals we have set without the tireless efforts of our leadership, as it is each of you who truly embody the mission set forth for this organization at its founding.
It is most timely during this interesting season of Jewish observances and celebrations that we take a moment to recognize the work of each of the directors, chairs, educators, staff, volunteers and friends of the International March of the Living. Your work is critical to the future and is surely reflected in the eyes of the participants whose lives are forever impacted by the experiences you as leaders assist in providing for them.
With warm wishes for a Chag Pesach Sameach, we wish each of you safe travel and fulfilling moments in the days which lie ahead.
Phyllis Greenberg Heideman, President
Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, Chair
