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🇮🇱 Israel /Elections & Politics

Holocaust Survivor Rescued by Rabbi Herzog Reunites with President Grandson

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • David Danielski, a Holocaust survivor, reunited with President Isaac Halevi Herzog, grandson of the rabbi who rescued him 80 years ago.
  • In August 1946, Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog and his Rescue Committee saved over 500 orphaned Jewish children, including Danielski, from post-war Europe.
  • Danielski shared his harrowing survival story, including his time hidden by a non-Jewish neighbor, Martha Kapitza, who protected him from the Nazis.

A poignant reunion took place at the President's Residence in Jerusalem as Holocaust survivor David Danielski met with President Isaac Halevi Herzog, the grandson of the rabbi who orchestrated Danielski's rescue 80 years ago.

He also knows about the train and the rescue committee founded by his grandfather.

— Greer Fay CashmanThe author highlights President Herzog's knowledge of his grandfather's significant rescue efforts.

In August 1946, Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, along with members of the Va'ad Hatzala (Rescue Committee), saved over 500 Jewish children orphaned by the Holocaust. These children, found in orphanages, monasteries, convents, and private homes across Europe, were brought together by Herzog's initiative. Danielski, one of these children, shared his journey with President Herzog, who, as the "family historian," possesses deep knowledge of his relatives' distinguished lives and rescue efforts.

Those who completed the first verse of the prayer were obviously Jewish.

— Isaac Halevi Herzog (recalled)President Herzog recalls his grandfather's method of identifying Jewish children by reciting the Shema prayer.

Danielski recounted his terrifying experiences during the Nazi occupation. After being sent to a farm and later returned home, he found his house marked by the Gestapo. A friendly non-Jewish neighbor, Martha Kapitza, took him in, fulfilling a promise to his mother to protect him. Despite being baptized and even joining the Hitler Youth under Kapitza's care, Danielski remained hidden. Kapitza's courage in sheltering him, even as the Gestapo intensified their search, ultimately saved his life. He later learned his parents had been deported to Auschwitz and never saw them again.

The Gestapo found no evidence of a hidden Jew in her home.

— Greer Fay CashmanThe author describes how Martha Kapitza successfully concealed Danielski from the Gestapo.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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