Shoah Remembrance after October 7

Throughout the seminar, participants discussed how commemoration changes when young people bring very different family histories, political perspectives, emotional connections, or sometimes no direct personal connection to the Shoah at all. A central question was how educators can prepare groups for shared commemoration: how to clarify why, whom and what we remember, how to build enough trust for participants to bring in their own connections and uncertainties, and how to develop forms of remembrance that are meaningful for the whole group.

Uriel contributed to the discussion on hidden challenges in German-Israeli encounters by reflecting on the experiences of young ASF volunteers working in Jewish institutions in Europe and the United States, where heightened security measures, concerns about antisemitism, and a more polarized public discourse have increasingly become part of their everyday service.

The discussions also showed that commemoration does not always have to take the form of a formal ceremony, but can also emerge through different creative formats or shared reflection.

At the same time, participants agreed that all these challenging topics need to be addressed, but without losing sight of what youth exchange is all about: having fun, creating positive experiences, building trust and forming new friendships and connections across borders.

Meetings with representatives of the German-Greek Youth Office and the Franco-German Youth Office offered valuable additional perspectives and made it possible to learn from their long-standing experience in international youth exchange.

The results of these discussions will contribute to a new online guide that will offer practical orientation for professionals working in German-Israeli youth exchange.

We would like to thank ConAct, the Bavarian Youth Council, the Israel Youth Exchange Authority, and the Jerusalem Municipality for organizing and supporting this meaningful and thought-provoking exchange.