Amid a sharp rise in antisemitism on US campuses, especially after the October 7th attacks in Israel, the International March of the Living launched the first ever University Presidents and Chancellors Mission from the United States and Canada which took place on the Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 6th, 2024.
The March of Living program brings participants to Poland to show a rich history of Jewish culture alongside sites of Jewish persecution. Delegates heard firsthand the experiences of Holocaust survivors and were guided by scholars-in-residence with expertise in the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights. The trip culminated on Holocaust Remembrance Day (May 5-6), during which participants joined Holocaust survivors on a solemn march from Auschwitz to Birkenau to commemorate the Nazi horrors. By participating in this mission, the hope is that university leaders will bring home their insights to fight antisemitism, hatred, and racism on campus.
The cohort of university presidents and chancellors from America and Canada that took part in the 2024 International March of the Living was led by Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman. The university presidents came from a diverse group of colleges and universities, including public, private, faith-based, and historically Black colleges and universities.
In the aftermath of Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7th, Rabbi Berman founded the Universities United Against Terrorism—a coalition of more than 100 higher education leaders who unequivocally condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization. In a year when 73% of Jewish college students are reporting antisemitism on their college campuses, this group was the first of its kind among higher education leaders to proudly stand with Israel and denounce Hamas.
"Today, I stand in Auschwitz alongside a delegation of university presidents, united in bearing witness to the harrowing atrocities committed by the Nazis against the Jews during the Holocaust," said Rabbi Berman. "As antisemitism surges across the globe and college campuses, this trip reminds us that 'Never Again' is not a promise of the past, but a pressing demand of the present. Never Again is now."
"Europe's most educated and advanced country in terms of higher education, in both the arts and sciences, was none other than Germany and yet this was the very same nation that singled out for eradication an entire people—the Jewish People—in the most horrifying manner, said Dr. David Machlis, Vice Chairman of the International March of the Living. "As we traveled through Poland and saw the results of Nazi Germany's genocidal policies towards the Jews, we saw the direct link between antisemitism and the road to Auschwitz. We hope that through this mission, which is planned to be expanded in future years, university presidents will become allies in the fight against antisemitism—because we know all too well the potential devastating outcomes of ignoring the issue."
The March of the Living stands as a pinnacle event on Holocaust Remembrance Day. Each year, thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish students from around the globe march alongside Holocaust survivors, world leaders, ministers, religious figures, and cultural icons. Since 1988, over 300,000 participants have marched from Auschwitz I to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, honoring the immense loss suffered by the Jewish people and all humanity. For the Jewish student participants of this educational program, the March of Commemoration in Poland is part of a longer journey culminating in the Independence Day March of celebration in Jerusalem.
In addition to the delegation of university presidents, this year, the March was led by 55 Holocaust survivors from countries around the world, including seven survivors who were personally impacted by the October 7th atrocities in Israel as part of a delegation of surviving victims from the deadly attacks.
