1. The March of the Living taught me about tolerance. It showed me that any group of people can be targeted. I am much more aware of the world around me now.
2. The March I’d have to say has definitely motivated my Jewish identity and since the march I have become a total Zionist, and even enjoy defending Israel, and our people on a daily biases against ignorant people. Because of the march I feel that I am way more motivated to participate/defend causes/those that need help.
3. My sense of Jewish identity increased after MOL. I obviously knew I was Jewish before and was proud of it, but going on MOL made me even more proud and aware of my history.
4. I try to say the Mourners Kaddish every night before I go to bed. I often light a candle and say the prayer.
5. Being aware that just because I did not go to a Jewish high school and live a very assimilated [life], does not mean I have to lose myself as a Jew. I am determined to live a life following more Jewish rules and to have a family that grows up to hopefully love their religion.
6. [The overall impact of the March caused me to consider] moving to Israel to be more immersed in Judaism.
7. My sense of Jewish identity was already strong. This trip just intensified what I had already felt. Never again, and to preserve Judaism.
8. The motivation to raise any children I may have Jewish is now even more important to me.
9.Acceptance of diverse religions and people is a quality that the March of the Living has given to me.
10. [The overall impact of the trip increased my] desire to travel to Israel – after visiting Israel on march of the living, I was inspired to participate in a gap year program, and plan on making aliyah at some point after college.
11. I have been even more motivated to educate other people about the holocaust and fight against anti-Semitism. Now I speak out much more when I hear anti-Semitic or racist comments.
12. I felt that the March of the living most strongly influenced my awareness of the need to be involved when confronted with Anti-Semitism. Before the March of the Living I held strong beliefs but did not always make my voice heard. Since the March of the living I have made it a constant and present aspect of my life to speak up when I am confronted with Anti-Semitism because so many people in the past suffered because of no reason other than their identity. Therefore I need to stand strong for my identity and what I believe in.
13. [What is most] important to me is a mixture of my commitment to human rights, and combating genocide. Ever since MOTL my awareness of these issues has risen immensely, and it is only because of MOTL that I wanted to learn more. In university I am a 4 yr Conflict Resolution Studies major, chosen because of my MOTL experience. This is where I have grown the desire to become committed to human rights and combating genocide.
14. Commitment to Human Rights. MOL gave me first-hand exposure to what happens when racism goes unchecked and basic human rights are disregarded; therefore making me a more vocal advocate of human rights.
15. After the march I slowly became more aware of my Jewish faith and my Jewish practices and I put much more effort into maintaining them and expanding them.
16. I definitely agree that the by being a participant on the March of the Living, I have become much more committed to being a more tolerant person to others. It really prepares you for the real world (which is extremely diverse).
17. [The March gave me the] motivation to [combat] the claims of the holocaust not happening. Taught me, how to approach this belief in a calm educated manner.
18. [The March increased my] awareness of the need to be involved when confronted with Anti-Semitism.
19. I think that the March of the Living made my commitment to the Jewish people and Israel much stronger. As well it made me more committed to being more tolerant of others and fighting racism and genocide.
20. By virtue of the total experience, one becomes aware of two basic facts. The interconnectedness of the human experience, and the fragility of life. The Holocaust did not have to happen, and could have been stopped had sensitivity to life been a higher value in German society. This is not a unique sensitivity, and we see many societies today that lack it, and so execute similar fates on minorities in their borders. The understanding that comes with the March means that participants bear responsibility to act, in small or large parts, to promote a more sensitive, caring world.
21. It definitely motivated me to combat intolerance and racism more. I was raised in an observant home, but the trip also made me a prouder Jew.
22. The March of the Living gave me the opportunity to connect to my heritage and people in an engaging and inspiring way. I am now living a observant Jewish life and commit my life to linking the chain of tradition to my children.
23. The March of the Living most strongly influenced my commitment to human rights and to combatin genocide. Since I returned from my trip I have engaged in a number of activities relating to spreading awareness of the genocide in Darfur and other human rights violations across th globe. The MOL definitely heightened my sense of awareness of these issues and instilled in me a desire to ensure the promise of “never again”.
24. The most lasting impression of the March of the Living was that no matter where you are in the world that Jews can connect and have the same feelings and what joy togetherness can bring.
25. The one that I care about the most [after the March] is accepting and respecting people because they are who they are and not because of their race, religion, color and nationality. As well as combating injustice towards weaker parts of the population.
26. I have increased my motivation to send my children to Jewish school because this is what made me want to participate in the March in the first place, and because by having a good background in Jewish history I was able to relate and think about the topics discussed on the March better.
27. [The March of the Living increased my] motivation to observe Jewish rituals, mostly influenced the tone that Rabbit Black set, and by some of the words given by the survivor Jack. This has been the most valuable because my only identity today is that of a religious Jew, and it’s the most precious gift I have ever been given. I feel that by keeping the laws and living by the Torah, I am combating anti-Semitism in the most profound way, and living as a proud Jew in the most complete way.
28. I am very sensitive when it comes to racism and anti-Semitism. After the March of the Living, I realized how much anti-Semitism exist and that it needs to be prevented and stopped.
29. March of the Living had an impact on every aspect of my life. It changed how I saw anti-Semitism, racism, Jewish studies, marrying Jewish and having a bigger part in Jewish causes. It also changed me as a person, Jewish and in everyday life. For this experience I am forever grateful! Morris and Roberta, you two are truly remarkable people and anyone who get’s to travel with you and experience this with you is extremely lucky! love you both!
30. My desire to move to Israel was greatly increased by an understanding of just what Israel means to the Jewish people today. In two months I will in fact be making aliyah and in no small part because of my experiences on the March of the Living.
31. This experience has instilled in me the need to be vocal when confronted with any sort of discrimination – be it anti-Semitism, racism, homophobia, etc. As well, it has majorly increased my motivation to respond to Holocaust denial for we can never allow people to forget and thus allow history to repeat itself.
32. This trip gave me a better idea of what becomes at stake if we let the Holocaust become forgotten or ignored.
33. The March of the Living increased my desire to make sure that no cultural or religious group disappear, mine included.
34. The March of the Living increased my desire to combat anti-Semitism and speak up against intolerance. The trip helped me better understand how anti-Semitism develops and why it is important to combat it and change the attitudes of others.
35. I come from a religious family, all of my aunts and uncles live in Israel as does my grandmother. Before going on the March of the living I already had a strong Jewish background and felt a strong connection to Israel. After high school I spent a year studying Torah in Israel and have enhanced my Jewish Identity. It is hard to tell how much impact the March of the living has made on me . The march of the living introduced me to several types of Jews.
36. I strongly believe the March of the Living increased my sense of Jewish identity. I much more proud of my Jewish heritage and thus am much more inclined to defend it whether that be through participating in activities supporting a Jewish cause or simply educating people around me about what we as a people are all about.
37. This trip has made me want to tell the survivors stories, so that the holocaust is never forgotten.
38. Looking back now on my views from before March of the Living, I know that I have become more observant and began to understand and care more about Judaism. I cannot say that it was attributed directly to what I learned on the March, though the experience had an impact. The area in which MOL impacted me and my views were to peruse studies on the Holocaust as well as to open my eyes to tolerance within other racial groups, as well as responding to those who claim the Holocaust never happened.
39. The March of the Living increased my motivation to respond to claim that the holocaust didn’t happen – I’ve spent time with survivors and I’ve visited the sites of terrible death and destruction. Even though I would have challenged such a claim before the march, now I can challenge it first hand.
40. The March impacted my sense of maintaining the Jewish religion, marrying Jewish and raising children Jewish. I realized how important these aspects are in the grand scale of keeping Judaism alive after millions of Jews were murdered for being who they were. I realized I had the chance to be who I am and I owe it to them to keep being Jewish and keep the Jewish faith alive.
41. [The March of the Living had an impact on my] desire to learn more about Jewish values. As a nation we cannot give up and need to continue to learn and practice our long-lasting traditions.
42. [My belief in the importance] of education of children in Jewish faith and school was impacted as a result of the March. It is so important for each generation to continue to learn about Judaism. Especially because mine is the last generation to be lucky enough to learn about the Holocaust from survivors, so we now have a responsibility to teach later generations of Jewish kids.
43. The March of the Living played a very significant role in my decision to make aliyah and join the Israel Defence Forces. From my experience, my Jewish identity only grew and I felt a need to contribute more to the Jewish homeland, Israel. It is very important to me for fight for the land in which now belongs to the Jews and to fight for all those who perished in the Holocaust. Without March of the Living, I would not be in the army today.
44. With regards to Holocaust deniers, my sense of importance has changed dramatically. I feel in some ways that it is of vital importance that the world be fully versed in the true happenings of the Holocaust, and that the vicious attitudes of those who deny the happenings be dispelled completely. I know what I have seen. And I know what others have seen, and I have heard and I pass along the testimony of the survivors from whom I have been bestowed the honor and responsibility of knowing their stories. I feel that in many ways those who deny the Holocaust are the same who deny history.
45. The March of the Living most impacted my desire to live a Jewish life. Though I was already an observant Jew, it made the experience so much more real and meaningful; I began to feel personally responsible to strengthen the Jewish people and make up for, to whatever extent I could, had been lost in the Holocaust. I felt that the future of the Jewish people is in Israel, and it motivated me to enhance my own religious experience by spending two years studying in an Israeli yeshiva.
46. The March increased my motivation to respond to claims of the Holocaust not happening: I think that before the trip, I would have known that I should respond if anyone made a claim denying the Holocaust… but I would have probably been too afraid to speak up. Now, if I heard anyone utter even a single word regarding the possible falseness of the Holocaust, there is no way that I could stay silent.
47. [The March impacted] my sense of Jewish Identity – I feel more integrated with the Jewish community than I did before March of the Living.
48. With survivors slowly passing away, it is important to hear the stories, visit the place where it occurred, and take this knowledge to pass on from generation to generation. The March of the Living does that. It helps create tolerance because you learn what it’s like to be the target. It emphasized the importance of Israel, Jewish life and passing on traditions so they don’t get lost, and the pain those in the Holocaust suffered to keep the faith alive, is not without just cause.
49. Due to my previous Jewish education many of the questions I already had a strong connection to prior to the MOL. However in particular I think the March had a profound impact on my views of human rights. I am currently in medical school but I remember in my interviews talking about how this trip pushed me to pursue a career in health care.
50. I’ve become very involved in STAND (students taking action now Darfur) in response to the trip. We always say never again, and that had an impact on me, so I wanted to be involved in a group that could make that statement a reality.
51. I think the one that had the most impact on me was a desire to pursue Jewish studies and the motivation to observe Jewish rituals such as kashrut.
52. [The March of the Living enabled me to] respond to claims of the holocaust not happening. The March made me a witness to the terror and reality that was the holocaust, its no longer a removed story… .
53. Willingness to support Israel – It was only after visiting Poland & Israel on the MOL that I realized how important the state of Israel was to Jews, and what a miraculous country it really is. Commitment to combating racism – After visiting camps in Poland, and knowing that the world stood by as the atrocities were taking place, it makes me sick that such things are still happening today. Again, so few in the world are paying attention.
54. I am a supporter of Israel and am not afraid to say so, even if I am not good at debating with dissenters. I am also much more comfortable with my Jewish identity than I was before, despite having more non-Jewish friends than Jewish ones.
55. The March helped me form an even stronger sense of Jewish Identity by showing me what happens when this is disregarded. My experience on March of the Living showed me the importance of such organizations as the IDF, human rights organizations and others.
56. My experience on the March certainly made me more aware of my responsibility to be aware of racism and discrimination against others, especially when it leads to violence, and to speak out against it.
57. Tolerance of other groups: March of the Living very clearly made me realize what baseless hatred of any group can cause. This made me change the way I thought about discrimination – it is never harmless.
58. The March of the Living impacted my ability to fight Holocaust deniers. After seeing all the atrocity, I can’t begin to understand how people are denying it ever happened.
59. With regards to my education and providing a Jewish education to my children, the March of the Living has a large role in influencing this decision. I personally feel that it reinforced the idea that it is so important to learn about the Holocaust in order to educate people on what happened to our people and how we have overcome it. I also think that having a Jewish education will allow my children to have a better understanding of themselves and avoid the struggle to find their identity. March of the Living has helped me find myself and understand why my family put me into the Jewish school system. It is important to continue educating our generations so that our culture and traditions will not be forgotten.
60. The March of the Living most deeply impacted my tolerance of other groups. Having grown up in a Jewish school, I was fairly sheltered and never truly wandered outside of my bubble. Had I not had this experience, my encounters with other religions and people of different origins might have gone differently when I went to CGEP. Seeing how the Jewish people were persecuted helped me understand the importance of being open to other minorities and people.
61. Prior to March of the Living, my sense of Judaism was not very high. I never attended Hebrew school, and I did not have many Jewish friends. since my experience on the March of the Living in 2006, my Jewish identity has significantly increased. For a year following my experience, my madrich from my bus and I went to synagogue every Friday evening. I continue today to be involved in as many Jewish activities as I can, and I am currently living in Jerusalem for the summer. as well, I am now pursuing my bachelor of arts degree in Judaic studies.
62. March of the Living made me proud to be Jewish and to defend Judaism and Israel whenever necessary. I was motivated to become educated on the history of Israel in more detail, in order to avoid ignorance and to be able to convey Israel’s light to anyone in an effective way.
63. [March of the Living impacted my need to take a role in] combating anti-Semitism and holocaust denial. If we are not going to do it than who is?
64. Because of the March, I have a much stronger desire to be more involved in my Jewish faith, activities and concerns. I want to have a Jewish family and be more observant then I am now. I want to be able to support Israel and Jewish organizations. The March increased my awareness to how much can be lost and gained as a people, and how important my involvement and my voice is.
65. [The March impacted my motivation to respond to claims of the Holocaust not happening – I have met people since who are Holocaust deniers and I have learned so much from the trip that I am able to stand up for my ancestors.
66. Going on the March definitely had a major impact on me taking a year off to study in seminary in Israel, to become even more observant and continue my Jewish studies throughout university.
67. The March of the Living impacted my commitment to human rights.
68. I always loved Israel and travelled there, but after stepping off the plane from Poland I never wanted to leave.
69. I would say the March most strongly impacted my sense of Jewish identity, and forever changed how I understand the Holocaust and what it means to be a Jewish person living in the Diaspora. I feel a strong commitment to passing on my experience to others.
70. After the March, my desire to promote holocaust awareness greatly increased.
71. Sense of Jewish identity – Since going on the March, I do find myself more connected to my Jewish identity. I find myself wanting to be more involved and connected in the Jewish community, and understanding and appreciating various customs much more.
72. My experience on the March of the Living reinforced many of my values and beliefs but the one that I think was changed the most was my desire to interact more with non-Jews. As my Jewish identity was strengthened through the experience I felt as though Jews need to be more present in non-Jewish activities.
73. Because of the March, I feel that going to Israel and really learning about it from the experience of being there and not what we read in the news is important for me since I realize how close we were to not having a state. That being said I feel it is important to return as often as possible to reconnect and not take it for granted that I have a homeland that millions of people dreamed of and never got to see.
74. The March impacted my willingness to donate to Israel, to Jewish causes, to participate in Jewish and non Jewish causes… It reinforced my Jewish identity and reinforced my awareness that is it is my duty to help the Jewish community in Montréal and globally as well those in need globally.
75. [The March impacted my responsibility for] combating genocide and for increased tolerance of other groups Also a greater appreciation for Israel.
76. Adherence to the Jewish faith is the most important aspect impacted by the March, because if we do not remember what our ancestors fought for and ensure something like the Holocaust never occurs again,vthan no one will. Our ancestors went through such a troubling and horrible experience for us to have the lives we live today and this can never be forgotten.
77. The March has increased my desire to make positive change in this world, and to address the inequalities that are so glaring around the world.
78. The one that is most important to me after the March is getting involved in Jewish organizations and causes. I feel this is important to keep up the livelihood associated with Judaism and that it is necessary for outside people to see what Judaism has to offer.
79. The only thing I was sure of after the March was that I wanted to stand up for human rights and that I would not tolerate anyone denying the Holocaust.
80. The March of the Living taught me that there are other ways to express Jewish identity than through religious adherence.
81. The March impacted my need for responding to Holocaust denial, and standing up for Israel’s right to exist.
82. Before the March of the Living I never considered moving to Israel, but since the March of the Living I have travelled to Israel once a year because I feel so connected when I go there and more safe than any other place in the world. I definitely have a stronger desire to move to Israel since going on the March of the Living.
83. I learned from the March and subsequent research after that while I had gone to Jewish school and participated in the Jewish community, what I was taught about the holocaust was only half of the story, not even. I think holocaust education within the Jewish community must be improved to extend beyond the fundamentals taught – the Jews were systematically persecuted and murdered.
This is not sufficient. There is so much more history about the Holocaust that is integral to the understanding of that period of time as well as its bearing on the community today. The March helped me understand that there was more I needed to learn – that just knowing the basics of what occurred was not enough.
84. The March made me realize how much we have in common and how important it is to carry on the religion through your children.
85. While I already had a strong connection to the Jewish faith, the March of the Living really gave me strong reasons to live a Jewish-inspired life. Seeing that Jewish communities with their traditions existed in Eastern Europe for so many years, tied me to their destiny. They lived their lives according to Jewish tradition. It meant something to them. They died as Jews, whether they identified or not. Living in a free and open society such as Canada, we are too fortunate to practice our faith, and to me, this was a strong reason to recognize how fortunate I am personally to be able to carry on the Jewish tradition.
86. Because of the March of the Living, I now believe much more strongly in the importance of combating racism, genocide, and fighting for human rights.
87. The March of the Living gave me the motivation to respond to claims of the Holocaust not happening. The March made me a eyewitness to the existence of the camps and no one… can say the Holocaust didn’t happen. I am PERSONALLY offended by anyone that either denies or downplays the magnitude of the Holocaust.
88. The March of the Living was my first trip to Israel in a while and it really instilled a sense of pride and desire to live there.
89. The March of the Living taught me to combat deniers of the Holocaust, because it made me realize how dangerous brainwashing and propaganda can be, and how important it is for us to always remember, so that others don’t try to erase or change history.
90. The March of the Living helped me realized that Israel is more of a cultural Jewish State than a religious one. I am more culturally Jewish, and appreciate the Jewish culture of food, music, the languages of Hebrew and Yiddish. I am a more spiritual person, and have an appreciation for Jewish and Israeli culture.
91. The March of the Living impacted my observance of Jewish rituals and adherence to the Jewish faith – I am not very religious and the March of the Living did not push me to become any more or less observant that I was raised. This is a good thing about the March of the Living, it accepts and welcomes all Jews regardless of how religious they may be.
92. The March of the Living didn’t make me more or less practicing Jew, although I was motivated to spend a year in Israel learning about Judaism.
