DON’T JUST EXIST—LIVE: SAMI STEIGMANN ON SURVIVAL, REMEMBRANCE & STANDING UP TO HATE

DON’T JUST EXIST—LIVE: SAMI STEIGMANN ON SURVIVAL, REMEMBRANCE & STANDING UP TO HATE What does it mean to survive history—and then spend the rest of your life making sure the next generation learns from it? On this episode of Peace, Love, and Bring a Bat, Uncle Dave welcomes Sami Steigmann, Holocaust survivor, Israeli Air Force veteran, motivational speaker, educator, and advocate against Jew hatred. Sami was born in 1939 and, as a young child, was deported with his family to a labor camp in the former Soviet Union. He later learned that he had been subjected to medical experimentation—something he says contributed to lifelong physical pain. But Sami is very clear: “I am not what happened to me.” What defines him is what he does with his life now. In this episode, you will discover: • Why Sami believes Holocaust stories must continue to be told • The difference between concentration, labor, and death camps • How his family survived deportation and displacement • Why he says luck played an important role in survival • How he learned at age 31 about medical experiments performed on him • Why education is central to combating hate • Why Sami prefers the phrase Jew hatred over anti-Semitism • His EMET framework for educating young people • Why he begins speaking to children as early as first grade • Why young people must become upstanders instead of bystanders • His experiences serving in the Israeli Air Force • Why Israel became so important to him after the Holocaust • His perspective on October 7th and defending Jewish life • Why media and communication matter when fighting hate • Why remembrance is about learning from the past—not living as a victim I AM NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME Sami’s guiding philosophy is: “I am not what happened to me.” The Holocaust. Homelessness. Pain. Loss. Those experiences are part of his story, but they are not his identity. His identity comes from what he chooses to do now. That mission is captured in EMET, the Hebrew word for truth: E — Educate M — Motivate E — Empower T — Tolerance For Sami, tolerance does not mean accepting harmful behavior. It means respecting other people’s cultures and opinions while refusing to remain silent in the face of hatred. ZACHOR — REMEMBER Sami explains that Jewish life does not simply view the Holocaust as history. The word Zachor means remember. It means bringing the past into the present so future generations understand what happens when hatred grows without consequences. His message is: Learn what happened. Understand how it happened. Recognize the warning signs. EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION Sami uses a famous line about getting to Carnegie Hall: Practice, practice, practice. His answer to fighting ignorance is similar: Education, education, education. You cannot force someone to change. But you may be able to change their perspective. And to do that, you must know what you are talking about. FORGIVE YOURSELF Sami also shares how becoming homeless forced him to examine his own decisions. He had trusted the wrong people, given them cash, and failed to put agreements in writing. Eventually, he stopped focusing only on what others had done and asked: “What did I do that brought me here?” That led him to two important lessons: Forgive yourself. And: Be kind to yourself. Learn from the mistake. Then move forward. WORDS MATTER Sami deliberately uses Jew hatred instead of anti-Semitism. Why? Because he believes the language should be direct and impossible to misunderstand. Words shape perception. Clear language creates clearer conversations. SEED FOR THE MAGIC GARDEN Sami Steigmann’s seed is: Don’t just exist. Live. Talk. Ask questions. Educate yourself. Stand up. Become an upstander instead of a bystander. Be proud of who you are. And use your life to help create a more compassionate, loving world. #PeaceLoveAndBringABat #SamiSteigmann #HolocaustSurvivor #NeverAgain #Zachor #JewishHistory #JewHatred #Israel #Education #Upstander #Tolerance #EMET #Resilience To support us: https://davidchametzky.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@davidchametzkyNOW https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-love-and-bring-a-bat/id1552738547