Holocaust survivor rescued by Chief Rabbi Herzog reunites with his grandson, President Herzog

David Danieli, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor rescued as a child by Rabbi Isaac Herzog's rescue committee, met with the rabbi's grandson, President Isaac Herzog, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. Danieli recounted his survival story, including hiding with a Polish family, joining the Hitler Youth, and eventually immigrating to Israel via the Exodus ship.

David Danieli, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor, met with President Isaac Herzog at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Danieli was one of over 500 Jewish children rescued by the Va'ad Hatzala (Rescue Committee) established by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, the president's grandfather. The rescue train departed from Katowice, Poland, in August 1946. Danieli recounted his wartime survival: his parents were deported to Auschwitz, and he was hidden by a non-Jewish neighbor, Martha Kapitza, and her family. He was baptized and even joined the Hitler Youth. After the war, he was identified as Jewish and sent to an orphanage. He boarded the rescue train to Prague, later traveled to France, and attempted to reach Israel on the SS Exodus in 1947, but was intercepted by British authorities. He finally immigrated to Israel in 1948. Danieli became an engineer, settled in Beersheba, and raised a family. President Herzog, who brought books about the rescue operation to the meeting, said he felt privileged to meet one of the children rescued by his grandfather.