Thousands of free falafel handed out in honour of Holocaust survivor David Leitner

Leitner would recall years later that it was the thought of his mother’s cooking, particularly the bilkelach (small golden bread rolls) that she baked in his childhood home in Hungary, that helped sustain and motivate him during the arduous march.

[Missing Credit]Volunteers handing out falafel on the streets of Leeds (Credit: Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism)

Leitner survived the journey and, after arriving in Israel in 1949, he tasted falafel for the first time while walking through Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda Market.

“The fried balls immediately took me back to the march, and my mother’s kitchen, and I had two portions, one after another,” Leitner told Israeli news site Srugim in 2018.

He made it a tradition every year thereafter to eat two portions of falafel on January 18 to remember his experience on the march and to celebrate his survival.

In 2016, a Holocaust education institution in Israel launched Operation Dugo in Leitner’s honour, encouraging people to eat falafel and share a photograph on social media.

[Missing Credit]A stall handing out falafel on the streets of Leeds (Credit: Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism)

The tradition has since spread to Europe and the UK, where this year grassroots groups including Leeds Leads Against Antisemitism, East Anglia Friends of Israel, North West Friends of Israel, Glasgow Friends of Israel, paid tribute to Leitner in their own communities.

Although Leitner 2023, thousands of people continue to commemorate the day globally by eating falafel. This year marked 11 years since the initiative was launched in Israel, and four since  the Israeli embassy introduced it in the UK.

Efrat Perri, director of public diplomacy at the embassy, said: “It is deeply moving to see how this initiative continues to grow through collaboration with organisations and communities across the UK.

"Together, we are proud to be part of a movement that transforms remembrance into action, honouring Dugo’s remarkable legacy by bringing people together through kindness, compassion and support for those in need.”