A view of ‘The Sculpture of Love and Anguish,’ by Kenneth Treister at the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach on Jan. 23, 2026, in Miami Beach.
Photo by Matias J. Ocner
mocner@miamiherald.com
I will never forget standing in Auschwitz with two Holocaust survivors, David Mermelstein and David Schaecter.
David Mermelstein took me to the exact spot where he was separated from his family. It was the last time he saw his parents and siblings. They were marched away to the gas chambers.
Inside the barracks, David Schaecter shared memories of his unimaginable suffering. With tears in his eyes, he explained why he kept returning to Auschwitz, despite the pain of reliving those horrors.
He told us, “One day I won’t be around, and I need you to be my mouthpiece.”
David Schaecter, of Miami, passed away in 2025 at age 96. I have never forgotten his words.
As we approach the anniversary of Kristallnacht, Nov. 9-10, 1938, when Nazi mobs destroyed synagogues, shattered Jewish businesses and terrorized Jewish communities across Germany and Austria, his message feels especially urgent.
For years, I believed people needed to visit Auschwitz to truly understand where unchecked hatred could lead.
But since Oct. 7, 2023, David’s words have echoed in my mind more than ever.
I never imagined that in my lifetime we would witness such hatred against the Jewish people again. The Oct. 7 massacre, followed by rising antisemitism around the world, has made his warning painfully relevant.
Synagogues are being attacked. Jews are being threatened simply for being Jewish. Many are afraid to openly display their Jewish identity.
And today, hatred spreads faster than ever. Social media allows antisemitic lies, conspiracy theories and hateful messages to reach millions within seconds.
But there is another side to this reality. Today, the world can no longer say it didn’t know.
During the Holocaust, newspapers, including The New York Times, sometimes buried reports about the mass murder of European Jews deep inside their pages rather than giving them the attention they deserved. Editors decided what the public would see and what would be overlooked.
Today, that excuse is much harder to make.
We see the attacks. We hear the rhetoric. We watch hatred spread across social media and into our communities.
The question is no longer whether we know. The question is what we are prepared to do about it.
Hatred must be condemned regardless of where it comes from. We cannot condemn antisemitism from one side of the political spectrum while excusing it from another.
Kristallnacht did not happen in a vacuum. It was preceded by years of hateful rhetoric, discrimination and silence.
But David Schaecter wanted us to understand something else. He did not return to Auschwitz simply to remember how Jews died. He wanted us to remember how Jews must live.
Our response to antisemitism cannot be only fear. It must also be pride. Our response to darkness cannot be only anger. It must also be light.
Every time we celebrate Shabbat, teach a child about Judaism or help someone in need, we demonstrate that hatred will never have the final word.
David, I remember standing beside you in those barracks, listening as you explained why you kept returning to that terrible place. You knew that one day you would no longer be here to tell your story. You asked us to become your witnesses, your mouthpiece, so the world would never forget.
You are no longer with us. But your voice lives on through those of us who stood beside you that day. You asked us to be your mouthpiece. Today, with these words, we are keeping that promise.
Rabbi Yossi Harlig is the executive director and spiritual leader of Chabad of Kendall/Pinecrest and the Chabad Friendship Campus. He served as a MDSO chaplain during the Surfside building collapse.