Holocaust Survivor at 93: 'Desire for Freedom Kept Me Going

At 93 years old, Holocaust survivor Yeshayahu Foyer sat with Israeli youth groups and shared the secret to surviving the unthinkable: holding onto hope for freedom.

Foyer spoke at a community center in Ashkelon as Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. The event, hosted by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, featured the survivor recounting his journey from a seven-year-old Polish boy to a proud grandfather and great-grandfather in Israel.

When World War II erupted, the Nazis seized Foyer's family farm and forced them toward a Jewish ghetto. His mother made a desperate decision to split the family, hiding her children with separate families to save their lives.

"I had to hide my identity and my language so they would not recognize that I was Jewish," Foyer told the students. He spent two and a half years hiding in forests, alone and terrified.

The war took everything from him. His parents, his sister (whose fate he still doesn't know), and his entire family disappeared.

"I walked alone, not knowing where to go," Foyer explained. "No one wanted to take me in. I was completely alone."

But Foyer survived. In 1947, he immigrated to Israel on his own, studied at a yeshiva, and enlisted in the IDF's Golani Brigade.

Why This Inspires

When youth at the event asked what pushed him forward after losing everything, Foyer's answer was beautifully simple: "What gave me strength was that I was alone, and I needed to build a family."

And build one he did. Foyer met his late wife Dina on a beach in Ashkelon, the same city where he now shared his story.

Together they created the family he'd dreamed of during those dark forest nights: two children, seven grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. His childhood was stolen, but he reclaimed his future through love and persistence.

The event took place through Zikaron BaSalon, a program that creates intimate alternatives to formal ceremonies, allowing survivors to share their stories directly with young people. As Foyer noted, these opportunities grow more precious each year.

"I am among the last Holocaust survivors you see here," he said. "In another year, I don't know how many of us will still be alive."

His message to Israel's youth carried urgency and wisdom earned through suffering: never take freedom for granted, and always protect it.

From a boy hiding his identity in Polish forests to a great-grandfather surrounded by family in Israel, Foyer's life stands as proof that hope, even in humanity's darkest moments, can light the way home.