Standing between Laima Ardaviciene and me in Kėdainiai, Lithuania on 15 June this year. Simon passed away last week and was laid to rest on the 18th December 2019.
With Rimantas Zirgulis
In Kaunas at Sugihara House on 11 June 2019
Simon was the Executive Director of the Sugihara Foundation in Kaunas.
Long Life to his family, and may his memory be for a blessing.
My second visit to the Museum, but first time meeting with Simon Davidovich, director of the Museum and Jewish tour guide. Also visiting the Museum were Richard Freedman of the Holocaust Centr…
This post is in honour of Chiune Sugihara. Contents 1. A profile of Sugihara 2. Photos of my visit to the Sugihara Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania in May this year 3. Nine Forth, Kaunas. May 2012 4. T…
‘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
THE BIRZAI/BIRZH MEMORIAL PROJECT, LITHUANIA – SA Jewish Board of Deputies
THE BIRZAI/BIRZH MEMORIAL PROJECT, LITHUANIA – SA Jewish Board of Deputies
On 16 June 2019, a new memorial for the victims of the massacre that took place near Birzai, Lithuania, was unveiled. Located in the Astravas Grove in the Pakamponys forest four kilometres outside the town, it is the third memorial in Lithuania to bear the names of the victims at the massacre site.
Atzalynas Gimnazija, Kedainiai Lithuania 13 June 2019 VIDEO OF OUR EVENT IN LITHUANIA They Are Returning ââTILTAI-BRIDGES-×ר×ק×â’ For video, click here: Source: www.youtube.co…
9 July 2019, Naliboki Forest A Day with the Bielskis 9:00 – All the guests are brought to the village of Naliboki by minivans. 11.00 – meeting Alexander Pilinkievich…
Coming Up in the UK, Europe and Israel in June, Europe and the US in July, and Australia in August!
I will be participating in:
a commemoration in June in Birzai & a shabbat weekend in Kedainiai, Lithuania;
an eight day educators’ seminar in June at the International School of Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem;
a 100-strong gathering in Novogrudok, Belarus in July, where a full and interesting program will include learning about the Partisans’ Song, and then singing it in the Naliboki Forest, where the Bielski’s lived and hid from 1942 to 1944;
the IAJGS39 conference in Cleveland in July, where I am giving two presentations, including one as part of the educators program – see below; and
WE ARE HERE! An Education Program That Inspires Upstanders in Australia in August.This educational program, which promotes universal human rights and inclusive development, is funded by the US Dept of State, and brings Holocaust educator and specialist Nance Adler of Seattle to Australia.
POSTED
Busy times ahead!
Chag Pesach Sameach and Happy Easter
Please contact me for further details.
Best regards
Eli
———————————
Further details:
I have been invited to be one of six speakers who will presentat the Educators Program at IAJGS39 (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) in Cleveland OH, USA on 28 July, the opening event at thisconference.
My topic is:
Projects That Draw Youth to Ancestral Roots.
The details appear below
My second talk is on 30 July on the WE ARE HERE! Project for Upstanders.
The IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy is being held in Cleveland for the first time. It features a special day designed specifically for Jewish educators!
Who Should Attend
Educators who:
Work in formal and informal settings
Work in day or synagogue schools
Create and facilitate family and intergenerational programs
Teach history
Teach writing and research skills
Sunday, July 28th is the date. The program begins with breakfast and a keynote by noted Jewish educator and genealogist Carol Oseran Starin, former Vice-President of the Jewish Federation of Seattle. Participants may select from two workshop time periods, each with a choice from three nationally known presenters, followed by lunch and idea exchanges.
Program Details
Goal
To introduce educators to how Jewish genealogy strengthens students’ Jewish identity through the experience of researching their roots and how their history shaped family and community.
Schedule
8:30–9:00
Registration and light breakfast
9:00–10:00
Keynote speaker: What is Jewish about Jewish Genealogy, Carol Starin
10:15–11:15
Three workshop sessions
Jewish Genealogy for Beginners, Maurice Kices
Designing an “Introduction to Jewish Genealogy” Program: Being Ready for Surprises, Sylvia Abrams
Projects That Draw Youth to Ancestral Roots, Eli Rabinowitz
11:30–12:30
Three workshop sessions
DNA as a Genealogy Tool, Gil Bardige
JewishGen—Everything You Need to Know, Phyllis Kramer
How to Get Kids Involved in Family History, Daniel Horowitz
12:30–1:15
Lunch and “tachlis” how to implement ideas
1:15–2:45
Participation in SHARE Fair and Exhibits
2:45–4:00
Education track participants are invited to the conference keynote address
Title of the Presentation
Projects That Will Draw Our Youth Back To Their Shtetl
Short Title
Visit the shtetl: the virtual way forward!
Type of Session
Presentation
Topic or Category
Jewish History and Culture Methodology and Mechanics Telling Your Family Story Using Technology for Research
Brief Abstract of Your Presentation
Since 2011, and after nine trips to Poland and Lithuania, as well as travel to Belarus, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Turkey and Israel, I have compiled a sizeable collection of information, stories, photos and contacts. My focus is not only about my own family history, but that of Jewish cultural history, general history, as well as contemporary Jewish life. Working with schools in these countries, I have been able to bring students together online to collaborate and to exchange information about the lands of their heritage.
My presentation takes you on a tour of how you can use this body of work to further your own knowledge on family research, Jewish cultural heritage and Jewish life. This includes a tour of my 86 JewishGen KehilaLink websites, including 55 in Europe, plus over 600 posts and pages on my Tangential Travel and Jewish Life website and associated social media.
Presentation is best suited for
All skills
How will your presentation help your intended audience?
Expand research skills Develop interview skills Teach best practices Expand social media skills Teach innovative strategies Assist with personal research
Second Talk – Tuesday 30 July 2019
Title of the Presentation
WE ARE HERE! Project: Becoming An Upstander Rather Than A Bystander
Short Title
How Jewish Partisans Inspire Our Youth To Stand Up
Type of Session
Presentation
Topic or Category
Genealogy and Jewish History Related to WW2 Jewish History and Culture Methodology and Mechanics Preserving our Jewish Past
Brief Abstract of Your Presentation
WE ARE HERE! Project This project seeks to inspire in young people the confidence and ability to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression. Encourages and inspires Upstanders through the stories of Jewish Partisans and the learning of Zog Nit Keynmol Provides role models for standing up for yourself in the face of prejudice, hatred, violence and evil Shows that an individual can make a difference – regardless of their personal circumstances Translates the stories of Jewish Partisans and the words of Zog Nit Keynmol into a universal message of hope and inspiration for all who are victims of prejudice and oppression Empowers young people to create the change they want to see in their communities and the world. Teaches that while the partisans used weapons – they were fighting the Nazis – you can fight oppression with only your voice and presence
Presentation is best suited for
All skills
How will your presentation help your intended audience?
Teach best practices Expand social media skills Teach innovative strategies
With Heather Blumenthal and Richard Freedman at the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre
In Australia #WeRemember by singing Zog Nit Keynmol, The Partisans’ Song.
Thanks to Phillip Masel for taking these photos at the ceremony in Mellbourne last night, and sharing them with us
Phillip, 96, was a friend of Hirsh Glik, the poet who wrote the poem in 1943.
Please Learn and Teach the Partisans’ Song to your students and children.
You have a choice of 28 languages, or even combinations, and now even in Noongar, Zulu and Xhosa
We can show you an easy and effective way to learn this before Yom Hashoah on 1 / 2 May 2019!
Learn The Partisans’ Song | tangential travel
Learn The Partisans’ Song | tangential travel
A Project For Your School Recite or sing the Partisans’ Song in your home tongue, or in a language you have learnt. Make a video, which can be as creative as you wish or just a simple recording. For the poem, each verse is made up of four lines. For the song, the last two lines in each verse are repeated. The Power Of Words The background and context The ‘Partisans’ Song’ – Zog Nit Kein Mol–written by Hirsch Glik, 22, in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943 is one of the most powerful songs of resistance and defiance ever written. While Hitler boasted that his Reich would endure for a thousand years, it is the Jewish people who resisted the forces of hatred and have endured, not the murderous Third Reich, which lasted twelve years. Today, 75 years on, long after the demise of Hitler’s murderous regime, the partisans’ song is now sung worldwide to mark the Jewish spirit of resistance. (Michael Cohen, Melbourne)
Listen to the Noongar, an Australian Aboriginal language, version.
View some of our videos of the song:
Videos | tangential travel
Videos | tangential travel
Beis Aharon School, Pinsk, Belarus
Videos of the Partisan Poem and Song Project ORT Compilation videos: Herzl Lyceum ORT, Chisinau, Moldova ORT Tallinn, Estonia Solomo Aleichemo ORT, Vilnius, Lithuania Solomo Aleichemo ORT singing the song during my visit in May 2017 ORT Chernivsti, Ukraine Kiev ORT #141, Ukraine ORT Odessa, Ukraine Moscow 1540 ORT, Russia Kazan ORT, Russia Samara ORT, Russia Mexico CIM ORT Herzlia High School, Cape Town, South Africa King David Victory Park, Johannesburg South Africa Sauleketis School, Vilnius Lithuania Dylan Kotkis of Carmel School, Perth The Poem in English The
WE ARE HERE! for Upstanders is a global program that promotes universal human rights and inclusive development. We are headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Using the stories of the Jewish Partisans, WE ARE HERE! seeks to inspire in young people the confidence and ability to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression.
Holocaust educator and specialist Nance Adler of Seattle, Washington will visit Australia in August 2019. Nance will present to teachers, students and community leaders involved in education. We will also run workshops.
Nance’s Partisans’ Project and Lesson Plan have already been translated by our global team into Russian, Lithuanian, German, Polish and Spanish, and are available for free! https://wah.foundation/lesson/lesson-plan/
Professor Lynne Cohen, recently retired vice-chancellor of ECU – Edith Cowan University, has joined our project team. Lynne was also Head of the ECU School of Education in Western Australia
Through our network of global collaborators, there are now 27 language translations of the Partisans’ Song. The Partisans’ Song portal: https://elirab.me/znk
Recently we arranged translations into Aboriginal Noongar, Arabic and Xhosa, and soon in Zulu, Mongolian and Ladino.
The Partisans’ Song will be sung in Noongar in July at Ellenbrook Senior High School, with planned national media coverage of this World Premiere!
William Cooper
There is a strong theme connecting the Jewish Partisans and William Cooper, the Aboriginal leader who attempted to deliver his protest to the Nazi consulate in Melbourne on 6 December 1938, just after Kristallnacht. William’s petition was eventually accepted by Germany in 2017: http://www.jwire.com.au/uncle-boydie/
The Gandel Foundation, Melbourne has recently announced two scholarships in the name of William Cooper.
This powerful nine minute documentary film features Uncle Boydie, grandson of William Cooper, and Moshe Fiszman, a Holocaust survivor. https://youtu.be/1N700Olmw-U
Ties That Bind is now part of the USHMM’s – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (in Washington) presentation.
We are writing a lesson plan for this documentary. This will be freely available to teachers and students around the world.
Our North Queensland collaborator, Barbara Miller, has written the book: William Cooper – Gentle Warrior
We are also expanding our global online collaboration classes with World ORT and other schools. World ORT is the world’s largest Jewish education and vocational training non-governmental organisation. Several lesson plans will be offered to a global audience.
Recite or sing the Partisans’ Song in your home tongue, or in a language you have learnt. Make a video, which can be as creative as you wish or just a simple recording.
The Power Of Words
The background and context
The ‘Partisans’ Song’ – Zog Nit Keyn Mol – written by Hirsch Glik, 22, in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943, is one of the most powerful songs of resistance and defiance ever written.
Today, 75 years on, long after the demise of Hitler’s murderous regime, the partisans’ song is now sung worldwide to mark the Jewish spirit of resistance.
“Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg…….Never say that you have reached the end of the road……
Mir zaynen do! WE ARE HERE!
“This says that although it looks like the last moments of the life of the Jewish people, it is not, and where the blood was shed, will begin a new, a heroic and a wonderful Jewish life!” https://youtu.be/koA7fpGxRgw
Leaving Memel – Refugees from the Reich is Fred Finkelstein’s current film on his family, thirty-five years in the making.
This is a film based on the life events of Cherie Goren and her family, who were forced to leave their home in Memel, now Klaipeda, Lithuania, when the Nazis took over the country in 1941. Cherie’s story is captured in this remarkable film by producer Fred Finkelstein, Cherie’s nephew. The film has enjoyed worldwide circulation, by describing how this family survived during one of civilization’s most horrible periods.
From Fred Finkelstein:
I want people to see the film and foster dialogue around the issues that are front and centre, especially human rights, immigration and the racism that so often accompanies it.
Whether you are Jewish or not, the issues brought to light here touch all of us, in ways both subtle and overt.
Wednesday 10 October – Sydney Jewish Museum – lunchtime
The Partisans’ Song, written by Hirsh Glik, age 22, in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943, is one of the most powerful songs of resistance and defiance ever written.
