March of the Living fate’s unclear as Poland gets first coronavirus case
Israel will not be sending a delegation this year following a decision of the Education Ministry
Organisers of the March of the Living insisted that the annual international commemoration in Poland was on course for April despite the cancellation of some delegations over coronavirus fears.
On Thursday, following the discovery of the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Poland, the ORT school in Lyon, France, announced it would not send its members to the event, which is scheduled for April 21 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
“We’re sitting out this year because of the situation around the virus,” a spokeswoman for the school told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
She said she believed the entire French delegation would not attend this year.
The March of the Living brings together thousands of participants, many from Jewish schools and youth movements, from more than 20 countries to Auschwitz on Yom Hashoah, Israel’s day of commemoration for Holocaust victims. Each country delegation is comprised of smaller delegations from various organisations.
A spokeswoman for the Unified Jewish Social Fund, which organises the French delegation, confirmed “there have been cancellations.” She declined to say whether the delegation had been cancelled outright.
Israel will not be sending a delegation this year as per the decision of its Education Ministry, according to a spokeswoman for Shlomit, an Israeli association representing members of national service groups.
Aharon Tamir, the march’s deputy world chairman, wrote in an email to JTA: “For now nothing has changed. We’re looking at the developments and will decide on the ground according to their implications. There’s no certainty in either direction and we’re hoping for the best.”
He said he expected to make a statement next week.
The British delegation likewise declined to give a definite answer on its attendance when contacted by JTA, while a spokesperson for the German group said it “does plan to go for now, although of course we might cancel if there’s an outbreak in Poland.”
The Australian and U.S. delegations did not immediately answer an email with questions on their intentions to attend. The Canadian group said Thursday that it was coming as planned.
The delegation from Italy, where more than 2,000 have been infected, especially in the north, may be barred from entering Poland even if it decides to attend. Polish authorities are not allowing in people from northern Italy, said Davide Romano, the director of Milan’s museum for the Jewish Brigade.
Last week, Israel suspended indefinitely all school trips to Poland, where the Israeli Education Ministry helps facilitate tours of death camps for hundreds of thousands of Israeli students.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in a recommendation earlier this week said that “travel agencies and organisers of trips to the Memorial to desist from the arrival of people from places found to be infected.”
Tens of thousands have been infected globally since the December outbreak of the coronavirus in Hubei province, China, and cases in more than 50 countries have resulted in thousands of deaths.
Sam Rosenberg, a former organiser of the March of the Living’s Australian delegation, said he believes the event should be cancelled.
“It seems irresponsible,” he said. “The delegations have physicians but they’re capable of treating injuries, not pandemics, in a country like Poland.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
