MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami Holocaust survivor Karmela Waldman and her author son, Joel Waldman, hosted a discussion that coincided with the community’s observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Yom HaShoah.
The event was held Monday at 9 a.m. in Temple Menorah, located at 7435 Carlyle Avenue, Miami Beach, and attracted over 100 attendees.
It featured a conversation between the Waldmans, who used their family’s experiences during the Holocaust to draw parallels to the surge of antisemitic sentiments seen today on college campuses and within various public spaces.
Karmela is one out of roughly 245,000 Holocaust survivors who are still alive in the world today.
“When it started October 7, people came up to me and they said, ‘Oh, my God, another Holocaust,'” she said. “Now, with this situation, I almost feel like it’s déjà vu all over again.”
Karmela offered a first-hand account of the Holocaust, provided attendees with a unique “bird’s-eye perspective” on the historical and ongoing struggles against antisemitism.
The discussion also marked the launch of a new book by the Waldmans, which delves into the lessons of the Holocaust and their relevance to today’s sociopolitical climate.
For the two, the attack on the Nova music festival in Israel and the events surrounding Oct. 7 are still fresh in their mind.
The mother-son duo have a podcast and now a book that tells Karmela’s story.
At just 5 years old, Karmela’s mother dropped her off at a convent where Catholic nuns kept her. Once the war was over, she reunited with her mom, but sadly, her dad and thousands of others had been killed.
“Unfortunately, we did not learn enough from history, and we have to teach history to not repeat it. The old cliche is true,” she said.
“Two things you don’t usually associate are humor and the Holocaust, but this book is actually laugh out loud funny, it is deadly serious and it’s deep and poignant but it has very funny moments,” Joel said. “I think a lot of people will enjoy it.”
In light of the war and the protests at college campuses across the country, the pair find it more important than ever to speak up and speak out, even in a time when its tough to do so.
“I tell you, a lot of Jewish kids are living in fear, but it’s wonderful that young people are looking for causes and that they are willing to go out and fight,” Karmela said. “I think that freedom of speech and freedom of expression is very important. Hating another minority is not OK.”
To paint a bleak picture and the fear Jewish people are feeling around the country, two fully-armed security guards were stationed at the front of the temple.
The gathering on Monday honored local Holocaust survivors but also provided a platform for education and remembrance of the 6 million Jewish men, women and children who perished at the hands of the Nazis.
Joel’s book, “Surviving the Survivor,” is available for purchase on Amazon.
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