![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
Aron Bielski is the youngest and last living member of the Bielski brigade, which he founded along with three of his brothers. Their activities have become widely known as one of the largest partisan groups that rescued Jews during the Holocaust.
He was born on July 21, 1927, into the family of David and Beila Bielski, who had 10 sons and two daughters, in what is today Belarus. According to Aron Bielski, they were the only known Jewish family in the Belarusian village of Stankiewicze. His parents and two of his brothers, Yankel and Avraham, were killed by the Nazis and buried in a mass grave on Dec. 5, 1941.
The story of the Bielski brigade—led by the brothers—that fought Nazis and other pro-German forces while rescuing escapees from their grips has been written about over the years in a number of books, as well as portrayed in the 2008 feature film “Defiance,” starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber (George MacKay played Aron).
After World War II and the Holocaust, during which his brothers saved more than 1,200 Jews, Aron Bielski moved to British Mandate Palestine and served in Israel’s army during the 1948 War of Independence.
Today, Bielski, 92 and the grandfather of 12, lives in Florida with his wife Henryka, 80, who was born in Poland in 1939 and is also a survivor.
JNS talked with Aron and Henryka Bielski by phone on April 12. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: What was your role in the Bielski brigade?
AB: To pick up children in the ghetto. For some reason or another, I never wore a yellow Star of David. I don’t know why, maybe I was stupid. By the help of G-d, I don’t know why every Jew was wearing the star. Therefore, it gave me the opportunity to walk into places where no Jew could. I lost two brothers because they had the Star of David.
It is very hard to be a good Jew, but at the end, it is indescribable how much rewarding it is.
Don’t think for a moment that I was a hero in any way or matter. This was pure luck because there were stronger people than me, and they were butchered. But I was lucky enough to prevail.
Q: What was your relationship with your brothers before and after you went into the forest, becoming partisans and rescuers?
AB: I was always lucky and privileged to have brothers. Asael was probably the most powerful individual that I ever met in my life. Smart and a very powerful, strong individual. With the help of G-d, because how smart could you be? You are nothing against the regular army that is working to destroy you. How smart can you be?
HB: The oldest brother, Walter, and [the second oldest] of the brothers, Nathan, went to America before the war. Yehoshua, a rabbi, went to Siberia during the war. A sister, Tove, lived with her husband, Avraham, in another village but they joined her brothers in the forest.
Q: What was life like in the forest?
AB: Life in the forest was great.
[There was] freedom. You saw the sunshine. All we needed was food, and we [felt that we] won. If you wanted to sleep, you slept. If there was no bed, you slept on the snow. Whatever it was, it was. It’s hard to believe, but that’s what it is. I had a rifle, but I didn’t think I should be on the first line [of defense]. They wouldn’t let me. They protected me.
Q: How did you get food while in the forest?
AB: You went by people; some gave you, some didn’t want to give you, some we got by force. We got whatever food we could get. Believe it or not, there was some religious people who didn’t touch a piece of meat because it was not kosher. This I’ll never forget.
HB: They had potatoes, eggs and even killed a cow. In the summertime, the forest had fruit.
Q: Can you elaborate on those who wouldn’t eat the meat despite the dire circumstances?
AB: They would rather die than eat the non-kosher meat. They would take leaves from a tree and cook them. They did not eat non-kosher food. It’s something for the books.
Q: How was survival different as a partisan than other stories of survival during World War II and the Holocaust? Was there a different mindset?
AB: You’re a different person than if you were born in the city and never been to the woods. You’re afraid of animals, wild animals. We were only afraid of G-d himself.
HB: My mother survived with me, and we were not in the ghetto. The Polish army helped us. My father was in Auschwitz.
AB: And she also survived because she knew, G-d told her, that I needed a very good wife, a very good friend. She’s still here, believe it or not.
Q: How did you two meet?
HB: We met in the Catskills in Upstate New York in 1992 and got married in 1995. My husband had two daughters and one son. The daughter had four children, and one son had four and the other had five. I have two biological and two adopted children.
Q: There has been a great deal written and featured about the experiences of you and your brothers, including the 2008 film “Defiance.” How accurate are the stories and portrayals, and can you address the accuracy of memory in general, particularly when it comes to the Holocaust?
AB: What happened was much worse than what the movie portrays.
HB: The movie did not show how they fought for their freedom. How Aron was running to the ghetto and bringing people there to the forest. How they were going to fight for the food and bring the food to the forest. How there was a cow in the forest, and the milk was only for children. Aron was 13 years old and was helping younger children.
The movie didn’t show how they trekked through the snow, how they were freezing to death.
Q: What happened after the war?
HB: Aron’s brother, Asael, served in the Russian army fighting Hitler and was killed in battle. His wife, Chaja, gave birth to their daughter.
Aron was sitting on the sidewalk, thinking about what to do with his life. No parents, no family, nobody. It was the hardest time in his life because he didn’t know what to do. His brothers, Zus and Tuvia, went to check on their wives.
AB: I sat down on the sidewalk and came to the conclusion: There’s no sense thinking. You get hungry. You got to go to work. I went and worked for whoever needed help.
Q: What kind of work did you do?
AB: Cleaning the village oven that cooked food. Whatever I was told to do, I was happy to do it.
Q: What are your thoughts on Holocaust revisionism, such as Poland’s recent laws about terminology? On Holocaust denial? On those who say that nothing so extreme as the Shoah could have happened?
AB: Some of the Poles had to [keep quiet]. If they didn’t collaborate, they would die. Some of them had to save their own lives. Of course, not all gentiles are Jew-haters; not all gentiles are bad people. There were some Jews [who acted] worse.
HB: I used to live in Canada and knew a Jew who came to North America at the same time as Aron. He was a Nazi collaborator in Auschwitz. He was taking gold from Jews. He said he was doing it because he wanted to save his life. But with that gold he brought to Canada with his cousin, he bought a two-story mansion.
Polish families saved me and my mom.
There were a lot of Poles who behaved badly. But there were a lot of Poles who did what they did because they were forced to. However, Poles did attack Jewish property and got richer from Jewish houses. They were jealous.
Q: As one of the remaining survivors of the Holocaust, ahead of Yom Hashoah on April 20-21, what is your message to the Jewish community, the United States and the world?
HB: We should love each other. Doesn’t matter what is your skin color, what is your religion. You should always be nice to each other. We’re all human. We’re sharing the same Earth, same sun and moon. We’re sharing everything. Love everybody, be nice to everybody.
AB: People should be nice to each other, to help each other, whoever needs help. Be good to your family and to people. If you see a person needs help, help him or her. Because the good Lord will know about it.