‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ – Edmund Burke, philosopher.
CONTINUE TO REMEMBER AND TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Today, 10 November, we commemorate Kristallnacht, also called Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms, when German Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland on that date in 1938.
The Perth ceremony will be held at Perth Modern School at 5pm tonight. The keynote address will be delivered by Malcolm McCusker, the former Governor of WA, who will speak on:
“Evil Creeps Back, If Good People Stand Aside”.
The final item on the program is the Partisans’ Song, to be sung in four languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Noongar and English, by the joint choirs of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel High School, under the direction of Stuart Rhine-Davis. The song was originally written as a poem by Hirsh Glik in 1943. Jesse John Fleay, a lecturer at ECU translated it into Noongar, and Suzanne Kosowitz re-arranged the music by Dmitri Pokrass to fit the Noongar. Michele Galanti coordinates the Carmel School Choir.
The joint Ellenbrook Secondary College – Carmel High School choir first performed this inspiring anthem on 5 August at Ellenbrook Secondary College in front of 2000 people, and then repeated it at Carmel School on 7 August. The original recordings are here: https://wah.foundation/program/
The Kristallnacht ceremony this year will be attended by Lance Turner, son of Uncle Boydie Turner and great grandson of William Cooper, the indigenous Australian, whose protest against the pogroms, at the Nazi consulate office in Melbourne, was finally recognised by the German government in 2017, 79 years later!
Eli Rabinowitz
Perth, Australia
Show your support for our growing band of Upstanders here in Perth WA
Tonight is the 17th yahrzeit of my dad, Cantor Hirsh Zvi (Harry) Rabinowitz
Harry’s abridged ancestral family tree (extends to over 20 generations)
Harry was born in Volksrust, Transvaal, South Africa on 28 September 1914.
Volksrust – Wikipedia
Volksrust is a town in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa near the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border, some 240 km southeast of Johannesburg, 53 km north of Newcastle and 80 km southeast of Standerton.
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ – Edmund Burke, philosopher.
Each year on 9/10 November, we commemorate Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms, when Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland on that date in 1938.
Some 30000 Jewish males were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. As a result of Kristallnacht, the Nazis ordered the Jewish community to pay one billion Reichsmark as compensation for the damage, and introduced many anti-Jewish laws.
Kristallnacht was a turning point or watershed in the Holocaust. It was the first time that violence against Jews was coordinated on such a large scale in Nazi Germany.
This year, the Perth Kristallnacht Commemoration will be held at Perth Modern School. It is being organised by the CCJWA – Council of Christians and Jews of WA. The keynote address will be delivered by Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC, a former Governor of Western Australia. The title of his address is: “Evil Creeps Back, If Good People Stand Aside”.
The final item on the program is the Partisans’ Song, to be sung in four languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Noongar and English, by the joint choirs of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel School, under the direction of Stuart Rhine-Davis.
The song was originally written as a poem by Hirsh Glik in Vilnius in 1943. Jesse John Fleay, a lecturer at Edith Cowan University, translated the poem in 2018 into Noongar, a Western Australian indigenous language. Perth composer Suzanne Kosowitz skilfully re-arranged the music by Dmitri Pokrass to fit the Noongar words. Michele Galanti coordinated the Carmel School Choir performance.
Hirsh Glik
The Partisans’ Song has been sung since 1943 as the anthem or hymn of the Partisans and since the Holocaust by survivors. Traditionally sung in its original Yiddish, the poem is now available in 28 languages, including Noongar.
Abba Kovner & The Vilna Partisans
Bielski Partisans, Belarus
Carmel School welcomed at Ellenbrook Secondary College
The joint Ellenbrook – Carmel Schools Choir first performed this stirring anthem on 5 August at Ellenbrook Secondary College in front of 2000 people, and then repeated the performance at Carmel School on 7 August. The original recordings can be seen and heard here: https://wah.foundation/program/
The Kristallnacht ceremony this year will be attended by Lance Turner, son of Uncle Boydie Turner and great grandson of William Cooper, the indigenous Australian leader who marched the 10 km from his home in Footscray to the Nazi consulate office in Melbourne, to protest against the Kristallnacht pogrom. William Cooper’s petition was ignored, and was only recognised by the German government in 2017, 79 years after his march!
The Argus, 7 December 1938
Eli Rabinowitz, Lance Turner, Stuart Rhine-Davis, Nance Adler & Jesse John Fleay
Eli Rabinowitz & Uncle Boydie Turner in Mooroopna VIC
Statue of William Cooper in Shepparton VIC
Plaque in front of the statue
Giant Mural Of William Cooper In Shepparton VIC
The US government funded our WE ARE HERE! Upstanders Project for educators in 2019. This enabled us to bring Seattle based educator, Nance Adler to Australia to headline our project. This was most successful, and opened the door for teachers and students around the globe to use our free resources. More information to follow.
Presentation In Novogrudok, Belarus
Nance Adler, Aron Bell (Bieski), Henryka Bell & Eli Rabinowitz in Novogrudok, Belarus
Maty Belsky & Eli Rabinowitz in Forest Jerusalem, Naliboki, Belarus
WE ARE HERE! Perth Team Lisa Marino – US Consulate Perth, Eli Rabinowitz – founder, Jill Rabinowitz, Suzanne Kosowitz – composer, Stuart Rhine-Davis – Music Director Ellenbrook Secondary College, Richard Cohen, Professor Lynne Cohen – retired Vice Chancellor and Head of the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Anne Rhine-Davis, Michele Galanti – Jewish Studies Carmel High School, Shirley Atlas – Educator at the Holocaust Institute WA & Bob Marino
Carmel School welcomed at Ellenbrook Secondary College
