IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot addressed the annual March of the Living in Poland Monday, marking Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Eizenkot, who led the IDF delegation to this year’s event, brought the Torah scroll held by then-Chief IDF Rabbi Shlomo Goren (later Chief Rabbi of Israel) during the liberation of the Temple Mount and Old City of Jerusalem.

During his speech, Eizenkot emphasized the importance of the IDF’s inclusion in the March of Life and its role in sustaining the legacy of Holocaust victims and survivors.

“For generation after generation, our brothers and sisters lived scattered and separated from one another, but were joined in spirit, in their hearts, and in their vision from time immemorial to return to the land of their forefathers,” said Eizenkot.

“But before they could build a [national] home and defense forces, disaster struck, and many Jewish communities of Europe were destroyed.

“Here, on this land, they were taken off in darkened cattle cars, brutally ripped away from their families, and led away to the identical fate – extermination.

“Their only sin was being Jewish, and for that they were tortured, crushed, and put to death - because there was no one who would stand up and fight for them.”

“I, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Force, stand before you today, in this place of infamy. I am proud and honored, to pledge, that we will always remember the inhuman tragedy that took place in these death camps.

“By holding this march of the living, we, the commanders and the soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces, will always be their voice.

“We will continue to be their voice, to be the light and the shield – like the pillar of fire [in the desert which protected] the Jewish people.”

“Such bloodshed will never be repeated, thanks to our strong and powerful army, forever committed to ensure it.

“We will never forget!"