May 10, 2013
Moved by the group’s visit to Ariel last year, tour leader Marda Heymann made Ariel the first stop for the “Hem of His Garment” South African delegation to Israel on May 10, 2013. Having just landed from the airport, the group of evangelical Christians came straight to the Ariel Regional Center for Performing Arts, where Avi Zimmerman provided them with the story of Ariel’s growth from a tent city of 40 people into a thriving city with a university, cultural centers, every municipal service, and 20,000 residents.
Heymann recalled the moving visit last year to the Holocaust and Heroism Memorial Museum founded by Holocaust survivors Kuba (z”l) and Irena Wodislavsky, and she made sure the group would hear the story of the couple’s dedication to honoring the lives of those who perished in the Holocaust. Theirs was the first group visit to the museum after the passing of Kuba in early May. Even while sitting shiva (initial period of traditional mourning for a loved one) for her beloved late husband, Irena demonstrated her deep commitment to her and her husband’s work by taking the time to personally greet the visitors.
The visitors came to understand the unique role of the Holocaust in the overreaching context of Jewish survival and the rebirth of the State of Israel. They were pleased with their multifaceted visit to Ariel as a thorough introduction to their stay in Israel, and grateful for the opportunity to touch, smell and taste Israeli resilience, ingenuity and inspiration.