On Yom Kippur I was shot protecting my synagogue, now I carry the torch. – Sponsored Content

One year after being shot while protecting Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester during a terrorist attack that killed two others, the author participated in the 2026 International March of the Living. The march, from Auschwitz to Birkenau, brought together 8,000 people, including Holocaust survivors and other survivors of antisemitic attacks. The author, wearing a kippah, expressed strengthened Jewish pride alongside fellow survivors who also displayed Jewish symbols. At the closing ceremony in Birkenau, the author lit a torch dedicated to combating antisemitism and addressed law enforcement, stating that "Hate is not abstract. It has consequences, and I am living proof." The article emphasizes that combating antisemitism is a shared responsibility and highlights moments of Jewish life and pride, such as praying and dancing in a 1642 synagogue in Tykocin. Despite ongoing security concerns in the Jewish community, the author concludes with a commitment to continue Jewish life and traditions, stating, "Even in the darkness and the pain, we carry on, and we dance."