CARLSBAD, Calif. — A Holocaust survivor is speaking out about the growing conflict in Israel. He has remained devoted to the Jewish faith and does not want to see history repeat itself.
CBS 8's Jenny Day sat down with him at his home, in Carlsbad.
Ben Midler is 95 years young. He was in and out of concentration camps from age 15 to 17. A constant reminder remains on his forearm. He is the only surviving member of his entire family.
"There was an uprising of the Jewish people. They put a few houses on fire, we smelled smoke - my uncle and his son and I went out to check, and the Germans were waiting for us in the yard and they marched us outside of the city," he shared.
Ben was targeted because of his faith. "The Nazis declared they want to kill and wipe out the Jews," he said.
Today - a story far too similar. "It's hard, Jewish people get killed for nothing."
Even the violence he himself endured - he says doesn't compare. He described Hamas as barbaric.
"They went and they cut off the heads of children, unbelievable," Midler said.
While he struggles to understand any motive, he lives by an uplifting motto. "I never forget the past, but I don't live in it. I live for today. Yesterday is gone. Today is today and tomorrow will be a better day," he said.
Once free, it was Israel that he fled to - where he met his wife of 70 years, who still has family there today.
"We're very concerned," he said.
Midler just went back in April, to a much different climate. "They were getting along with all the world, nobody thought this would happen."
His advice after nearly a century of wisdom, speak up against hate, choose love, choose happiness and live in harmony.
"People should not make any difference between religion and color because the hatred is killing each other. If you're positive, everything goes away," he added.
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