Evangelical leader Mike Evans the founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem was asked to join in leading the march of the Living with the Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion
The 2022 March of the Living is taking place on April 28, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Evangelical leader Mike Evans was asked to join in leading the march with the Mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion
Evans is the first Evangelical asked to lead the March of the Living. He has devoted his life to combating antisemitism, after he was strangled and left for dead by his father when he attempted to defend his Jewish mother from his abuse. Evans was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in January for his lifetime of work combating anti-Semitism.
Evans came to the March of the Living from Ukraine, where he had been helping Holocaust survivors get out of Ukraine and back to Israel. He said he received a phone call from Knesset Member Sharren Haskel asking him if he could get a Holocaust survivor family of seven out of the Russian-controlled town. Amazingly, Evans succeeded.
Viktor, the Director of Evans’ work in Ukraine, and also a refugee, has been feeding impoverished Holocaust survivors and Jewish orphans in Ukraine for over a decade. Evans said, “The only place Viktor could find a home to run our operation after the war began was Auschwitz, which makes leading The March of the Living even more meaningful.”
Evans rescued Last week a Holocaust survivor from Kharkiv by the name of Shelia. She arrived in Israel just before the March of the Living. Evans said that when he saw Sheila, she said to him, “I was born in war and I thought I would die at war. But I put my faith in God and you came for me.”
Evans has gone into Ukraine three times in the last five weeks with more than 60 tons of food, bringing it to the Jewish community and to churches. Evans’ son, Michael David Evans, just came out of Kharkiv, delivering food into that war zone and other cities in the east. His son will join him in the March of the Living.
“The Jewish community and Christians are going through unspeakable agony,” said Evans. “The relentless shelling lights up the sky as soldiers go house to house terrifying and even killing innocent civilians. Families live underground in the cold and filth, surviving on dried pasta and raw grains. Even venturing out to find water could mean death for many. When they go out into the streets they can see and smell death and view buildings on fire, knowing that a lot of their dear friends are dead.”
“We will go back in two more weeks and bring more Jewish Holocaust survivors out. Then we will go back two weeks later with another 40 to 60 tons of food, taking it into these bombed cities,” Evans said.
When asked why at 74 years of age that a number-one New York Times bestselling author with 108 published books is putting his life and his son’s life at risk, Evan said, “Our lives are not our own. The key to happiness is committing your life to a cause greater than yourself. I have such a cause.” He added, “God created me to combat anti-Semitism and to comfort his people. I’m only doing what I was created to do. And so it is with my son. The life of every Jewish person is just as precious in God’s eyes as my life and in my opinion, more precious are the children of the Holocaust. Love is not something you say. It’s something you do.”
“When I became conscious after my father strangled me and left me for dead and I had vomited all over myself at the age of 11, I shook my fist at God in anger and screamed in the dark, ‘Why was I born?’ I was angry because I was alive. In my mind, my mother was being abused because of me. My father would always call her a Jewish whore when he would beat her and say that I was not his son. He believed she had an affair with a Jewish man and my father never called me son, never said he loved me, and never affirmed me. He only abused me violently from the age of four.
“But when I asked why was I born, I knew the answer. I couldn’t defend one Jew against a Jew-hater. My life’s call was to defend all the Jews and that gave me great hope.
“I consider it an honor to be one of the leaders of the March of the Living and I proudly say ‘never again’ as I stand with the Jewish people, especially with the Jewish people of Ukraine in their time of need.”
To help and to get involved with our efforts to help in Ukraine, visit https://ukrainehope.com/.
For inquiries, contact Tal Marom Spokesperson for FOZ tal@marompr.co.il