From Darkness to Justice: In Honor of Holocaust Memorial Day

Today, as we mark Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, our hearts are heavy. We remember six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and honor the survivors who rebuilt their lives with courage and dignity.

Among them stands a towering figure in Israeli public life—Professor Aharon Barak, former Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court. Born in Lithuania in 1936, Barak survived the horrors of the Holocaust as a young child, escaping the Kovno Ghetto in a sack carried by a Lithuanian farmer. That narrow escape would shape the rest of his life. His survival was not just a personal miracle—it became the foundation of his unwavering belief in a Jewish and democratic state, one that learns from history and acts with justice.

Barak’s journey from child survivor to one of Israel’s most influential legal thinkers is extraordinary. As Chief Justice, he championed the rule of law and human rights, insisting that “everything is justiciable”—that no person or authority is above the law. For many, he represents the moral spine of Israeli democracy. Yet his judicial activism has also made him a target in today’s polarized climate. His critics often focus on rulings related to the occupied territories, but the larger debate reflects a struggle within Israeli society: how to be both strong and just, both secure and democratic.

This year, marking 80 years since the end of World War II, the Holocaust takes on a chilling new resonance. In a symbolic and historic moment, Israeli hostages who were recently freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza will join Holocaust survivors on the March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau—the infamous path of death. Two chapters of Jewish trauma—80 years apart—will walk side by side.

This profound image underscores a painful truth: 59 Israeli hostages are still held in Gaza. For 566 days, they have endured darkness. Without their return, our society cannot truly heal. Amal Educational Network calls for their immediate release. We owe it to our past, to our values, and to our future.