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The International March of the Living is a world renowned educational program which brings students Holocaust survivors educators and distinguished leaders from around the world to learn the history of the Holocaust and the modern State of Israel With a successful 35 year record of meaningful impact on the lives of many millions around the world the March of the Living is one that dramatically enlightens a diverse population on the history implications and lessons of this darkest chapter in human history The highlight of the annual March of the Living experience culminates during the two most important days in recent Jewish history as participants observe Yom Hashoah Holocaust Remembrance Day in Poland and Yom Ha atzmaut Independence Day in Israel The impressions gleaned during this journey from darkness to light are life changing and long lasting In addition to Poland marches are held throughout the year in Israel and in several European countries where Jews had lived and flourished prior to their annihilation We march whenever possible to declare NEVER MEANS NEVER SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONAL MARCH OF THE LIVING 35 MOTL ORG DONATE 2 WEST 45TH STREET SUITE 1500 NEW YORK NY 10036 75 3

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FOR THE FIRST TIME THE TORCH WILL BE LIT FOR THE JEWS OF MUSLIM COUNTRIES BY IMPACT ENTREPRENEUR HAIM TAIB For the first time in history the March of the Living is dedicating the lighting of a memorial torch to the Jews of Tunisia and North Africa It is a great honor to be the first person to light a commemorative torch in memory of the Jews of Tunisia and North Africa at the March of the Living in Auschwitz Birkenau says Haim Taib founder and president of the Mitrelli Group and the Menomadin Foundation If my father was still alive to see this he would shed tears of joy While most are familiar with the Holocaust in Europe during World War II few are aware of the difficult conditions faced by the Jews of Tunisia during a difficult six month period in late 1942 and early 1943 After American forces landed in French Morocco and Algeria in November 1942 as part of Operation Torch the Nazis decided to take over Tunisia to prevent the Allies from defeating the German and Italian forces On November 22 1942 the Germans began to take control of the country Over the next six months the Allies and Germans fought a series of bloody bitter battles until the Germans were finally defeated in May 1943 During the six months of occupation the SS imprisoned 5 000 Jewish men in forced labor and detention camps on the front lines and in cities throughout the country Jewish institutions were closed the German troops threatened Jewish women and the Jewish community was subjected to heavy fines All told close to 1 000 Tunisian Jews are estimated to have died during the period Born in Jerusalem in 1960 to Tunisian immigrants Haim Taib grew up in Olesh a small agricultural settlement in central Israel with his seven siblings Taib recalls that his parents frequently talked about the fact that their parents were Holocaust survivors The children were not aware that the Nazis had controlled Tunisia One day he continues our father told us about his childhood experiences how his mother was afraid when the Germans 20 came into Tunis and that the Nazis had taken my grandfather and his brother to the labor camps Suddenly in one day their entire world changed They could no longer go out in public places and their mother hid their daughters so that the Germans couldn t find them camps where the Nazis had enslaved the Jews including Lulu s father and uncle Though World War II raged throughout Europe life in Tunisia returned to normal after May 1943 People went back to work and children returned to school When the war ended in 1945 and the Haim Taib would grow up to become a successful Taib family realized the horrors of the Holocaust businessman and an expert in strengthening and Lulu s father Haim declared that the future of the developing countries through an array of impressive Jewish people was in Israel Lulu joined the Betar projects across Africa He documented the family s youth movement and began to study Hebrew harrowing experiences in Nazi controlled Tunisia After the establishment of the State of Israel in as told to him by his father Eliyahu Lulu in May 1948 conditions worsened for the Jews of his autobiography Following the dream Holech Tunis In 1949 the Taib family together with im Hahalom Lulu one of ten children born to many other Tunisian Jews boarded the Sangier Haim and Kuka grew up in Tunis the capital and sailed to Israel city of Tunisia In 1979 the grandson Haim Taib entered the In the book Taib describes the desperate conditions IDF and joined the armored tank corps He in Tunis during the war The windows of the served in the First Lebanon War in 1982 and houses were covered with dark sheets and darkness remained in the army for an additional year after descended on the city to defend against the Allied the war After receiving his military discharge bombings that were searching for the anti aircraft Taib entered the workforce positions that the Germans had deliberately scattered within civilian neighborhoods Every day the In 1991 he traveled to Angola on behalf of an sound of sirens and explosions pierced the air Israeli owned Portuguese company to develop Lulu s father Haim and his mother s brother Zion its business interests there From the moment were captured by the Germans and taken to a he landed in Africa Taib was enchanted with forced labor camp Four months later Haim and the continent and its possibilities Zion escaped from the labor camp and returned home clothes in tatters and their bodies broken Haim Taib and his company Mitrelli Group over and bruised Haim s wife urged them to hide in the years have developed innovative pioneering the house until the war ended The bombings solutions on the continent in the fields of food continued houses collapsed and many Jews security water healthcare housing education were killed telecommunications and energy Over the past thirty years Taib and his team have been a vital On May 7 1943 Tunisia was liberated from force for positive change in Africa utilizing Israeli Germany The Jewish residents of Tunis filled technology to contribute to the development the synagogue to offer prayers of thanksgiving and growth of Angola in particular after its and a parade was held through the streets of the devastating civil war city Later the people visited the forced labor Haim and Kuka Taib Courtesy of Haim Taib In 2002 after the war in Angola ended Taib recommended that Angola emulate Israel in advancing agriculture as a path to success I suggested that we imitate what our parents did in Israel to strengthen the country via agriculture says Taib I said Let s make communal settlements in Angola In Israel such villages are known as kibbutzim and moshavim Taib also suggested that the Angolan government utilize discharged soldiers from both sides of the recently ended conflict to build cooperative villages and then went on to help establish the program with the assistance of other Israelis We called it Aldeia Nova which means the new village in Portuguese The Angolan Government allocated a vast area of 20 hectares in a stunning valley in northwest Angola close to 50 000 acres for Aldeia Nova which built 18 villages each housing between 150 and 180 families Residents raised chickens and cows and grew vegetables The project remains active and is considered to this day one of Angola s most successful ventures providing for over 1 200 families and many other thousands who benefit from its products Aldeia Nova was not only successful in providing food and employment but in implanting peaceful relations among soldiers who had fought against each other and were now cultivating the land together Taib notes that the concept of getting diverse people to live and work together was adopted from the moshav where he grew up where Jews of different origins worked the fields together and learned to coexist I came to Africa for the first time in 1991 recalls Taib I didn t know what to expect Years later I understood that my involvement there involved three different dimensions my parents coming from Africa my returning to Africa and using my company to implant the values that I received from my home a love of Israel a love for others giving to others and respecting people He added These values drove us to work with local partners and create sustainable positive impact in the same way we developed the State of Israel from 1948 until today By taking the values that our parents used to build our country youth villages development of water education and agriculture and bringing them to Africa and applying them through technology and innovation we are living the age old Jewish teaching of Tikkun Olam Taib noted that the fact that the family of his wife Iris experienced the full horrors of the Holocaust in Romania and Hungary adds to the significance of his lighting the torch at the March of the Living this year When I join with my wife Iris a granddaughter of survivors to light the torch at Birkenau it will provide an extra level of strength and significance I am lighting on behalf of the Jews of North Africa and she is participating on behalf of her family in particular her grandmother Miriam Heiman and great aunt Eva themselves Auschwitz survivors Haim Taib does not consider his childhood home as one of Holocaust survivors but he acknowledges that his father and grandfather experienced the Nazi occupation and it is a valid Holocaust story which needs to be remembered To be able to participate in this year s March of the Living representing the Jews of Tunisia is a great accomplishment as the son of those who were saved These events happened and people must know about it and retell the story to others Haim Taib My parents came from Africa and I returned to Africa Gilad Adin 21

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Guido Goldberg left and Dubik Pritsky KKL Avi Dickstein Yossi Zeliger 30 31

Support the International March of the Living in carrying the torch of Holocaust memory into the future Join our effort to remember the past honor the memory of the victims the legacy of the survivors and the importance of continuing Holocaust education As we stand together in solidarity and strength your contribution to the International March of the Living is your commitment to the future of our mission of memory and education in the battle against antisemitism and all forms of hatred bigotry and intolerance We invite you to support our ongoing efforts to make a difference in our pursuit of engagement and enlightenment through education Together we will go from strength to strength and march together for a better future for all SUPPORT THE INTERNATIONAL MARCH OF THE LIVING 35 MOTL ORG DONATE 2 WEST 45TH STREET SUITE 1500 NEW YORK NY 10036 75