and Jewish Life
A special visit by the Prime Minister of Australia
The honourable Malcolm Turnbull to the Jewish Community.
The Central Synagogue, Sydney
Chanukah, 5777
30 December 2016
Watch video:
Visit the Sydney KehilaLink:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/sydney
Just think of this – when was the last time Maoz Tzur was heard in Keidan, Lithuania, sung by a Jewish kid? Maybe 75 years ago!
When Laima Ardaviciene, the English teacher at Atzalyno Gymnazija in Kedainiai Lithunia, asked whether I could give a talk on Chanukah via Skype to her students, I would normally have sourced one of the many brilliant articles by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and shared this with them, speaking from my home.
As I only live a minute’s drive from our CHABAD Shul in Noranda, I came up with the idea of enlisting the assistance of Rabbi Shalom White and doing it at the Shul. I also asked a young and talented friend, Dylan Kotkis, to join us. Dylan has a friendly and outgoing personality together with a beautiful singing voice. He is a 15 year old student at Carmel School, Perth’s Jewish Day School.
Due to the 7 hour time difference between Perth and Kedainiai, 1pm (7pm here) was the best time for Laima and her students, so we held the meeting in the Shul’s library. A minyan was taking place in the sanctuary at the same time.
Here are some photos and video clips taken both from the Kedainiai and from the Perth ends. I synchronised and edited the videos and combined the footage taken by Laima and myself.
Rabbi White, Dylan and I spoke about the festival and Dylan took the Lithuanian students on a tour of the shul. Dylan sang Maoz Tzur for them.
Photos taken at Atzalyno Gimnazija
[gss type=”slideshow” size=”full” options=”timeout=4000″ name=”mt3″ carousel=”fx=carousel” ids=”175297529,175297533,175297534,175297536,175297535,175297532,175297531″]
Photos taken on the Perth side
[gss type=”slideshow” size=”full” options=”timeout=4000″ name=”mt2″ carousel=”fx=carousel” ids=”175297545,175297546,175297547,175297544,175297550,175297549,175297548″]
Screenshots and photos of the signs the Lithuanian students presented.
[gss type=”slideshow” size=”full” options=”timeout=4000″ name=”mt1″ carousel=”fx=carousel”
ids=”175297553,175297552,175297554,175297555,175297556,175297557,175297558,175297543,175297542,175297541,175297540,175297538″]
Monash is widely acknowledged, even by British military historians, as being the outstanding allied commander of WWI.
This was achieved despite the considerable discrimination that existed because of his Jewish and German heritage.
There is now a push to get the Australian government to grant him posthumously, the title of Field Marshal.
To watch the video on YouTube, go to https://youtu.be/6vYQBX6xF3o
Pnina Berkman’s matseva at Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth
[gss type=”slideshow” size=”full” options=”timeout=4000″ name=”ush2″ carousel=”fx=carousel” gss=”1″ ids=”175297165,175297166,175297167,175297168,175297169,175297170,175297172″]
The story about Pnina, her son Mark and his re-connection to his family, appeared in The West Australian on 24 January 2013
Read here
Thanks to the researcher, Rose Raymen, for sharing this story with me, and Estelle Blackburn for writing it.
Estelle Blackburn: The-making-of-a-serial-killer
“NO RECORD” RESULT letter from the Victorian BDM Registry in response to Mark Berkman’s request
Private Patricia Vinico Grigg in the Australian Women’s Army
Her WW2 service certificate.
The Frances Barkman House in Balwyn Victoria where Mark Berkman stayed after his mother’s death
One can see the faces of the children looking out from the fence.
Patricia Grigg with adoptive father Charles Leslie Grigg
Pnina’s mother Dorothea Vinnicombe
Mark Berkman
Mark Berkman taken shortly before the death of his mother
Pnina and Gerszon (Gary) Berkman with son Mark Melbourne 1950
Mark’s new-found cousins from left to right: Lois Langdon and Jean Williams
Pnina Berkman
Mark and Rivka Berkman’s wedding day
Mark and Rivka Berkman’s children from left to right: Son-in-law Shlomi Weizmann, son Hadar Berkman, granddaughter Bar Weizmann, daughter-in-law Tahel Berkman, son Tamir Berkman, daughter Rona Weizmann and granddaughter Mia Weizmann
Mark and Rivka Berkman, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 2016
Maccabean article 16 July 2010:
More about:
Rose Raymen
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/gdansk/Zylberstein.html
Estelle Blackburn
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estelle_Blackburn
Eric Cooke
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Edgar_Cooke
Perth KehilaLink
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/perth
The Sydney Jewish Museum is looking for people who have an interest in history, to join them as volunteers to guide school students through the Museum on school excursions. Before they can apply to be a guide, they need to complete the attached course.
For more info: http://tinyurl.com/p3zxzah
email: volunteer@sjm.com.au
Emdon Video Productions filmed the evening’s celebrations which included:
the hilarious MC, Nik Rabinowitz, no relation;
the Gardens’ chairman Solly Berger, who is my cousin;
Chief Rabbi of the UK & the Commonwealth, Ephraim Mirvis;
Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Warren Goldstein;
Rabbi Yossi Goldman of Sydenham Highlands North Shul;
Rabbi Pinchus Feldman of Sydney;
Rabbi Osher & Sarah Feldman of the Gardens Shul;
and South African music icon, Johnny Clegg.
Thanks to Emdon Video Productions for allowing me to extract some footage from their video.
That’s Jill and me on the top right of the display. We were married at the Gardens Shul on 31 July 1977
Rabbi Osher & Sarah Feldman of the Gardens Shul
Here are selected clips from the video. This video clip is for South African Jews, especially Boerejode. It is hilarious.
My Other KehilaLinks
Some of the crowd
The three videos
Thursday 10 November 2016
Perth’s Jewish community kicked off its third annual Shabbat Project with a well attended Great Challah Bake at The Jewish Centre.
200 women attended.
Bianca Singer’s instructions, drosha and great Jewish music were heard via headphones on a silent disco – a world first!
A special challah cover was given as a home gift to all who attended.
Video: elirab.digital (me)
Music: Yaakov Shwekey
http://www.theshabbosproject.org
More videos to follow after Shabbat!
The Perth KehilaLink:
The Internet by Dylan Kotkis
CARMEL SCHOOL’S LIVING HISTORIAN PROJECT 2016
The invitation:
As part of their Holocaust Studies program the Year 10 students, in small groups, have interviewed Perth Holocaust survivors and recorded their stories. The personal experiences of the “living historian” opens up a view of history that cannot be found in books. The lessons in life and insights that the students have gained from meeting with their allocated survivors will stay with them long after the project and their years at school have ended.
We usually have an evening where we invite the survivors and parents of the students to view their projects, but we felt that with the amount of effort the students put in to their work, one night is not sufficient. We will therefore be opening our very special exhibition to the Perth Jewish Community on Thursday 27 October at 7pm in the Breckler Troy Hall in the High School.
We invite you to come and view the students’ displays and gain some insight into the lives of the Perth Holocaust survivors and their experiences.
Shirley Atlas – Jewish History teacher
Carmel School, Perth Australia
I attended this excellent event which began with an introduction by Jewish History teacher, Shirley Atlas, followed by groups of Year 10 students introducing their survivor’s story. We were then invited to view their presentations set up around the high school hall.
The survivors featured were from Poland, Hungary, German, Holland and Lithuania.
Here are a few photos taken on the evening
[gss type=”slideshow” size=”full” options=”timeout=4000″ name=”lh1″ carousel=”fx=carousel” ids=”175296935,175296936,175296937,175296938″]
Heiny Ellert’s team – video presentation:
Olivia Walters, Yannai Goldberg, Aaron Grolman, and Teagan Joffe
Heiny’s testimony which I filmed for the Holocaust Institute in 2015:
The Neishtot-Tavrig KehilaLink
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Naumiestis
My visit in 2016