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Operation Dugo

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Operation Dugo
מבצע דוגו
StatusActive
Date(s)18 January
FrequencyAnnually
CountryIsrael
InauguratedJanuary 18, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-01-18)
ActivityEating falafel

Operation Dugo (Hebrew: מבצע דוגו)[a] is an annual event in Israel that celebrates Holocaust survival and commemorates the death march from the Auschwitz concentration camp by eating falafel on 18 January. This event originates from the personal custom of Holocaust survivor David "Dugo" Leitner, which gained popularity beginning in 2016.

Background

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Leitner in 2021

David "Dugo" Leitner was born in Nyíregyháza, Hungary, in 1930, to an orthodox Jewish family of six.[3][4][5] Following the German occupation of Hungary in 1944, his family was transferred to the Nyíregyháza Ghetto in March 1944,[6] and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp six weeks later, in May 1944.[1][7] On 12 January 1945, the Soviet army began its Vistula–Oder offensive, advancing on occupied Poland and approaching Auschwitz.[8] Between 17 and 21 January, the SS forced approximately 56,000 prisoners from Auschwitz and its subcamps to march. An estimated 9,000 to 15,000 prisoners died during these marches.[8]

Leitner, only 15 years old at the time,[9] was marched out of Auschwitz on 18 January. During the march, he drew strength from his mother's tales of round bilkelach, golden-brown dough balls popular among Central European Jews,[10] which she described as growing on trees in the Land of Israel.[1] Leitner survived the march and was transferred to Mauthausen concentration camp and later to the Gontskirchen subcamp, where he was eventually liberated.[1] After immigrating to Israel in 1949,[10] he visited the Mahane Yehuda Market and saw frying falafel balls, which reminded him of the bilkelach from his mother's stories. He resolved to eat two portions of falafel every year on 18 January.[11]

Leitner was a founding member of Nir Galim.[1] He passed away on Tisha B'Av[3] in 2023 at the age of 93.[12]

Popularization

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A typical Israeli falafel potion in pita

For many years, Leitner observed his personal custom in solitude,[13] eating a double portion[b] of falafel near Nir Galim.[10] Over time, family and friends joined him, eventually drawing hundreds of participants, including the entire population of Nir Galim.[16][17]

In 2016, his daughter, Zahava Kor, who had written a book about his story in 2005,[2] collaborated with the Nir Galim Testimony House [he] to launch Operation Dugo. The public was encouraged to eat falafel, take photos, and share them on social networks.[11] Since then, the initiative has expanded to include various sectors, such as the Israel Prison Service, government offices, workplaces, and embassies, which serve falafel on this day, as well as many schools in Israel and worldwide that observe the day by studying the death marches.[18] In 2024, Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana announced that a special falafel stand will be set up at the Knesset every 18 January in memory of Leitner,[19] and the Knesset cafeteria marked a decade of participation in 2025.[20]

Jewish communities worldwide also participate.[21] The embassy of Israel in Warsaw gave away hundreds of portions to mark the day in 2021,[13] as did the embassy of Israel in London in 2023, donating falafel to homeless people around the city.[22][23]

Among the people who personally shared a falafel with Leitner are president Reuven Rivlin in 2019,[15][14] Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi in 2020,[9] and president Isaac Herzog in 2023.[24]

Notes

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  1. ^ The title is sometimes[1] erroneously transliterated as "Operation Dogo", which is written the same way in Hebrew in ktiv hasar niqqud. However, sources with niqqud, such as the cover of the book by Zahava Kor, make the correct pronunciation evident.[2]
  2. ^ The number of portions Leitner used to have is unclear. Davar says multiple portions ("מנות").[14] Srugim ("מנה") and Lidor ("a porion") say a singular portion.[15][10] Jlife says "as much falafel as he can".[1] However, most source, such as Jeffay ("not one, but two portions of falafel"), Ross ("double portion"), Israel Hayom ("מנה כפולה"), Maariv ("שתי מנות") and another Srugim source ("2 מנות") name two portions.[3][13][11][16][17] Channel 13 says that "in the past, he could eat more than 3 portions of falafel by himself, but in recent years he has been eating just one ("בעבר היה יכול לאכול יותר מ-3 מנות פלאפל לבד, אך בשנים האחרונות הוא אוכל אחת").[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Operation Dogo". JLife Magazine. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b קור, זהבה (2005). הסיפור של דוּגוֹ [Dugo's Story]. ידיעות אחרונות.
  3. ^ a b c Jeffay, Zak (28 July 2023). "The Blogs: My tears for 'Falafel Dugo,' the Holocaust survivor who screamed before kings". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  4. ^ "דוד לייטנר | ניצול שואה מהונגריה" (in Hebrew). Yad Vashem. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  5. ^ "My Father's Last Request | Holocaust Survivor David (Dugo) Leitner". Yad Vashem. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Holocaust survivor who began falafel tradition passes away". Israel Hayom. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Ujfeherto New Jewish Cemetery". ESJF Surveys. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Wollheim Memorial". www.wollheim-memorial.de. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  9. ^ a b זיתון, יואב (16 January 2020). ""מבצע דוגו": ניצול השואה נקם לצד הרמטכ"ל עם מנת פלאפל" ["Operation Dugo": Holocaust survivor takes revenge alongside the Chief of Staff with a falafel portion]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d Lidor, Canaan (27 July 2023). "David Leitner, who made eating falafel a symbol of Holocaust resilience, dies at 94". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  11. ^ a b c יעקב, נצחיה (18 January 2016). "ח"י בינואר: נקמת הפלאפל של ניצול השואה" [18 January: The Holocaust Survivor's Falafel Revenge]. Israel Hayom. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  12. ^ Tzuri, Matan; Eichner, Itamar (27 July 2023). "Holocaust survivor who celebrated life by eating falafel dies at 93". Ynetnews. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Ross, Adam (26 January 2021). "Holocaust Survivor's Falafel is Tribute to His Survival". Aish HaTorah. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  14. ^ a b "חוגג את החיים / ניצול השואה שחוגג מדי שנה את הישארותו בחיים במנה פלאפל" [Celebrating life / Holocaust survivor who celebrates his survival every year with a falafel dish]. Davar (in Hebrew). 18 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  15. ^ a b "הנשיא ריבלין: "הפלאפל הכי מרגש שאכלתי" #מבצע דוגו" [President Rivlin: "The most exciting falafel I've ever eaten" #Operation_Dogo]. Srugim (in Hebrew). 17 January 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b "מבצע דוגו: ניצול השואה קורא לכם לנקום איתו ולאכול פלאפל" [Operation Dugo: Holocaust survivor calls on you to take revenge with him and eat falafel]. Srugim (in Hebrew). 18 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  17. ^ a b שטוטלנד, אילנה (14 January 2018). "מבצע אכילת הפלאפל של ניצול השואה מאושוויץ" [The falafel-eating operation of the Holocaust survivor from Auschwitz]. Maariv (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  18. ^ a b איידן, מיה (27 July 2023). "הלך לעולמו דוד לייטנר, ניצול השואה שהיה מוכר בזכות "מבצע דוגו"" [David Leitner, Holocaust survivor known for "Operation Dogo", has passed away]. Channel 13 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  19. ^ אלמקייס, ישי (18 January 2024). "לראשונה בלעדיו: "מבצע דוגו" יתקיים לזכרו של דוד לייטנר" [For the first time without him: "Operation Dugo" will be held in memory of David Leitner]. Makor Rishon. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  20. ^ "מבצע דוגו' 2025: כבר עשור שלם במזנון הכנסת'" ['Operation Dugo' 2025: A whole decade in the Knesset cafeteria]. Maariv (in Hebrew). 15 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  21. ^ "Operation Dugo: Enjoy a Free Taste of Falafel on Friday, January 17!". JCC Mid-Westchester. 16 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  22. ^ Rosenberg, Michelle (19 January 2023). "500 meals for the hungry and homeless: Israeli embassy champions 'Dugo Day'". Jewish News. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  23. ^ McLoughlin, Bill (19 January 2023). "Israel embassy teams up with food distribution charity the Felix Project". Evening Standard. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  24. ^ אייכנר, איתמר (17 January 2023). "פלאפל מאושוויץ: הנשיא הרצוג אכל מנה עם שורד השואה דוגו" [Falafel from Auschwitz: President Herzog ate a dish with Holocaust survivor Dugo]. Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 23 January 2025.
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