Itzak's Garden

In 1944 Nazi soldiers in Romania arrested a 14 year old boy and his Jewish family. Their family and Jewish neighbors were jammed into a cattle car and carried by train to Auschwitz. When the train arrived Itzak Rotem's mother and five brothers were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Selected for work teams, Itzak and his father survived the last year of World War II as Auschwitz prisoners.

When the concentration camp was liberated by the Allies, Itzak returned to his village in Romania to find his family home had been acquired - leaving him homeless. He eventually immigrated to Israel where he met and married his wife Sarah. Itzak went on to live a long, positive and inspirational life.

I first met Itzak at his modest 600 square foot house at the Ginosar Kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee. He and Sarah lived there for 68 years.

Itzak was one of the most positive, inspirational people I ever met. Funny, interesting, inquisitive and able to speak seven different languages. At age 87 he was clearly happy and appreciative. In our initial two hours of conversation, Itzak never mentioned he had been a prisoner at Auschwitz.

This Garden is dedicated to Itzak, his positive spirit and inspiring ability to heal. Click here to read his story in full.

"We should thank God every day for everything we have... and even more for everything we don't have."