
Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to honour the six million Jews and millions more victims—including Roma, queer and trans people, disabled people, and political dissenters—murdered by the Nazi regime. By remembering their stories, we honour their legacy and reaffirm our dedication to the fight for justice.
As Jews, we carry the deep responsibility to ensure that the memory of the Holocaust is not weaponized to justify new oppressions. In marking this day, we reaffirm our commitment to a world free of fascism, exploitation, and state-sanctioned violence, recognizing that the fight against genocide and oppression is ongoing.
Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we find ourselves asking, what does it mean to remember one genocide as we watch in horror while another one unfolds? How do we live up to the mandate of Never Again, knowing that it must mean Never Again for Anyone?
We know the life-saving power of solidarity, when many of our Jewish elders and forebears survived the Nazi Holocaust because of solidarity efforts. This year, in remembrance of the Holocaust, IJV is calling on our community to join us in supporting direct aid projects for Palestinians in Gaza. IJV-Hamilton member Rabbi David Mivasair has been organizing direct aid projects for Palestinians in Gaza over the past 15 months. We asked him about this work and how IJV members and supporters can support. He writes:
During the Holocaust, stopping the Nazis seemed impossible. It took years and massive amounts of international pressure to end the Nazi genocide. However, all during that time, a small group of ordinary people helped save Jews. At great risk to themselves, they provided food, warm clothing, and other basic needs to total strangers, often saving their lives. They hid Jews, sometimes for months, even years.
I have had the privilege of meeting many Holocaust survivors who would not have survived if someone had not done them a kindness during an unimaginably terrible time.
When people in Gaza started appealing for help, knowing Jews who survived through the solidarity and compassion of strangers made it clear that I simply had to respond as best as I could. Little by little, others have joined me in sending aid directly to families in Gaza for the past 15 months. Dozens of us formed an informal, ad hoc network here in Canada and elsewhere. We call it Connecting Gaza. We support dozens of families in Gaza. We send them money so they can buy desperately needed food, water, tents, warm clothes, medical care and other basic needs. We are in touch with them daily, offering emotional and moral support through dozens of WhatsApp groups, one per family with eight or ten of us supporting each family.
We’d love for you to join us. Even with the current ceasefire, the needs are enormous. The families we support are still homeless. Some have even had children shot and wounded in the past week. You can express your solidarity with a financial donation in any amount by using the button below. If you would like to join us in supporting someone in Gaza with what Dr. Gabor Mate calls “empathic witnessing”, please contact me at david@mivasair.com.
Another way to support families in Gaza is to purchase a tent for $146 which will be delivered to them through a program organized by Palestinian-Canadian Lama Aggad in Oakville, ON. You can do this by e-transfer or PayPal to david@mivasair.com.
One other way to help is the Elham Fund, created by Gaza-born Toronto psychotherapist Hammam Farah to honour his aunt, a beloved music teacher murdered by an Israeli sniper in November, 2023.
Today, it is clear that remembering must lead us to meaningful action. We hope you will join us in supporting these solidarity efforts.