From the Global Front in Israel

April 10 – 17, 2026

When I was 12 years old

This week included Israel’s Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day – from sunset on April 13 until sunset on April 14.

My introduction to the Holocaust happened when I was 12 years old. The year was 1967-68.

Two years earlier my dad, a pastor, took a church in East Cleveland, Ohio. We lived in Cleveland Heights. In the 7th grade, I loved that we were getting twice as many holidays as the rest of the country. It was because most of the students were Jewish.

My dad fell ill and was admitted to the Cleveland Clinic. During his first time there, his roommate was a man by the name of Manny Offman.

Manny was a survivor of Auschwitz. When he came out of the camp, he was a one of many living skeletons.

Manny became a friend of the family. We were in each other’s homes on a number of occasions. Manny was on a disability pension from Germany. His wife was a screamer.

I came to believe that Manny married her because he believed he deserved the screaming. It is likely, very likely, he did things in the camp to survive that were horrifying.