Since 1992, the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous has been holding reunion ceremonies between Holocaust survivors and rescuers once a year. But the tradition is coming to an end, as many have died or are too frail to travel. What might be the last reunion of its kind took place when a 92-year-old woman met up with the two surviving family members that she helped hide during the Holocaust, and their descendants.
Sarah Yanai and Yossi Mor introduced Melpomeni Dina (nee Gianopoulou) to their almost 40 family members, all decedents of the Mordechai family, the family of seven that Dina and her two sisters hid during WWII. "There are no words to describe this feeling," Dina told the Jeruselum Post. "It is very emotional for us to be together again."
Before WWII, the Mordechai family ran a fashion store in Veria, Greece, where they also gave sewing lessons. They taught Dina's older sister, Efthimia Gianopoulou, who they refused to charge because she had been orphaned.
After WWII broke out and Greece surrendered to the Axis, the Mordechai family went into hiding. For a year, they lived in a cramped attic of an abandoned Turkish mosque and would receive regular visits from Efthimia.
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The space was poorly ventilated, giving the family health problems. Efthimia offered to let the family stay with her and her two teenage sisters in their single-room home. The sisters risked their lives to save the Mordechai family. They did so because, as Dina put it, it was "the right thing to do."
The family was reported to the authorities after six-year-old Shmuel became sick and was taken to the hospital, where he died. The Mordachais had to find another place to live, so the Gianopoulou sisters helped the family escape to the nearby Vermio mountains. They continued to give the family supplies.
"Church bells would be rung by locals when the Nazis were searching the mountains to warn us," Mor recalled. "One day, the bells just kept ringing and ringing – that was the day the war ended." After the war ended, the Mordechai family moved to Israel.
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Now 77, Mor was an infant when his family was in hiding. However, Dina's kindness has stayed with him. "They fed us, they gave us medicine, they gave us the protection, everything, they washed our clothes," Mor told the Associated Press. "She loved me very much."
"The risk they took upon themselves to take in an entire family knowing that it put them and everyone around them in danger," Yanai, who is now 86, told the Associated Press. "Look at all these around us. We are now a very large and happy family and it is all thanks to them saving us."
There is something so beautiful in knowing that there are those who will risk their lives to help their fellow man. It lets you know that, even during history's worst atrocities, some semblance of humanity remains in this world.
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A family makes heart shapes with their hands at sunset
Ketel Marte was brought to tears during an MLB game after facing a shameful fan taunt.
Baseball manager's poignant support for a player brought to tears after shameful fan taunt
Whether they’re expecting perfection from their favorite players or, worse, behaving callously toward opposing teams, sports fans often forget that athletes are human beings. But athletic competition has the ability to unify and uplift, even amid such painful and unpleasant encounters. Take, for example, a major-league baseball game held June 24, 2025 between the home team Chicago White Sox and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks.
A shameful low point occurred when Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was at bat in the seventh inning. Per ESPN, a fan reportedly yelled out a comment regarding Marte’s late mother, Elpidia Valdez, who died in a 2017 car accident in the Dominican Republic. Team personnel, including manager Torey Lovullo, then requested the 22-year-old fan be ejected. (Though he was remorseful and admitted his actions were inappropriate, according to an ESPN source, he was nonetheless banned indefinitely from all MLB ballparks.) "We commend the White Sox for taking immediate action in removing the fan," the MLB said in a statement. Marte reportedly declined to comment.
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While the fan’s behavior is inexcusable, it did spark a powerful and inspiring moment. After hearing the comment, Marte was visibly upset, prompting Lovullo to walk on the field, put his arm around him, and offer some words of encouragement. "[I said,] 'I love you, and I’m with you, and we’re all together, and you’re not alone,'" Lovullo said in a post-game interview, as documented by The Rich Eisen Show. "'No matter what happens, no matter what was said or what you’re heard, that guy is an idiot.’"
According to Arizona Republic, Lovullo heard the fan’s comment but didn’t want to repeat it. “I looked right at [Marte] when I heard,” he said. “I looked right at him, and he looked at the person, as well. He put his head down and I could tell it had an immediate impact on him, for sure."
Elsewhere in the post-game interview, the manager called the moment "terrible" and reflected on why he stood up for Marte. "Fans are nasty, and fans go too far sometimes," he said. "I love my players, and I’m gonna protect them…I’ve known Ketel for nine years. He’s had some unbelievably great moments and some hardships as well and some really tough moments in his life. I know those. At the end of the day, we’re human beings, and we have emotions. I saw him hurting, and I wanted to protect him."
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The following day, the Chicago White Sox X account sent out a message in support of Marte, writing, "We’re with you" and "Baseball is family." On The Rich Eisen Show, the show's host addressed the need to eradicate this kind of toxic athlete-fan interaction: "I was hearing [people saying], 'There’s no place for this in major league baseball.' There isn’t. There’s no place for this in our society. I understand that people are saying the MLB has got to do something about this. Fans have a right to heckle players—this is something that has happened forever…But there is a line."
In another recent, depressing sports moment with a beautiful coda, let’s look to Game 7 of the NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the eventual champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the first quarter, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles tendon—a devastating injury that could potentially sideline him for most of the 2025-2026 season. Following the game, in a lovely display of sportsmanship, Thunder point-guard and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the Pacers locker room to check on his competitor. In a press conference, he said, "You just hate to see it, in sports in general. But in this moment, my heart dropped for him. I can't imagine playing the biggest game of my life and something like that happening. It’s so unfortunate."
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