“It’s your turn to be the torch bearers of memory, the Jewish people, and a better future for all mankind,” March of the Living President Phyllis Greenberg Heideman told the students in between performances of songs such as “Shabehi Yerushalayim,” “Hallelujah,” and a skilled trumpet and shofar blower.

The International March of the Living organization was founded in 1988 as an educational program to bring Jewish high school students from around the world on a “march” from the Nazi concentration camps of Aushwitz and Berkenau – coinciding with Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), and then ending up in Israel for Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom Hatzmaut (Independence Day).

To date, the organization has brought more than 300,000 students from over 50 countries on the journey of Jewish resilience.

“Yes, we were sad. But we were reminded of our task for the future,” Greenberg Heideman added. “I hope you are as determined as we are that the Holocaust never happens again, and we are determined to prevail because have no other choice.”

Rabbi Marvin Hier, co-chair of the board of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, spoke to the students, recounting the story of Nicanor from the Book of the Maccabees, whereby the Seleucid general attempts to suppress the revolt led by Judah the Maccabee – threatening both Jewish sovereignty and Jewish religious practice.

“This story is a microcosm of Jewish history,” Rabbi Hier explained. “There are two sides of Jewish survival. One side in the Land of Israel and the second is the Torah.”

Without large settlement in Israel during the nearly 2,000 year exile, it was the Torah that kept the “heart beating” he said, “though always beating towards Zion.”

Turning to Holocaust and the events of Oct. 7, Hier proudly proclaimed that the destruction of the Jewish people “will never happen again, because the men and women of the IDF have sacrificed their lives for God’s promise, and the idea of Netzach Israel (Israel is eternal).”

“Am Yisrael Chai, today, tomorrow, and forever!” Rabbi Hier proclaimed to a standing ovation.

The event, hosted in partnership with KKL, featured riveting videos depicting scenes from the pre-state period up and through the hi-tech advanced country that is the Jewish state today.

Vice Chair of International March of the Living Baruch Adler mentioned the attack of October 7 in his address to the students, telling them “There is much to celebrate on Independence Day, but year this no real joy.”

“The hostages are not with us, there are countless who fell on the 7th and in the subsequent war, and antisemitism is on a rise globally.”

Adler said that the students are fighting this hate by keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust, “and now we must fulfill the mitzvah of celebrating the Jewish state.”