The Israel National Team remembered the past as they visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau extermination camps, where over a million Jews perished during the Holocaust ahead of their opening Eurobasket game on Thursday against Iceland.

During the tour, the players heard from the local guide about the atrocities that occurred in the camp. In addition, the Chabad emissary to Poland blew the shofar and the players recited a chapter of Psalms for the swift return of the hostages. At the end of the visit, all the players and staff sang Hatikvah, the national anthem.

Head Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi spoke about the visit, “This is the first time in my life that I am here and seeing everything we saw is something I will never forget. Every time we go and play for the national team representing our country, we need to remember this visit and everything that happened here. We’ll be at the European Championship with great pride, representing the country with the respect it deserves.”

Veteran guard Bar Timor also spoke about the tour, “A difficult and emotional visit on one hand, but being here with the Israel national team is something unifying and moving. I was here as a high school student and coming back here is very difficult. It’s an important visit and it’s good that we’re doing it – being here with the national team makes it even more special. We knew about the visit in advance, but still, being here and seeing and hearing everything is something else. As Jews and Israelis, we must not forget what happened here. I don’t think we need extra motivation, but the tour gives us time to be together, it’s beyond basketball.”

Moti Daniel, the Israel national team manager added, “This visit is part of our identity as Israelis as we are always trying to understand what happened in our history. It’s incredibly powerful. I think you could see that the players understood where they were and despite the difficulty of the experience, it will do them good and they’ll feel what it really means to be Israeli.”