
Giedre Guzaviciene and Arūnė Levuškinienė, teachers at Kalvarija Gimnazija meeting me in Marijampole
Stakliskes
Stoklishok KehilaLink
Stoklishok, Lithuania
Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/stoklishok/Home.html
Prienai

Marijampole

Giedre Guzaviciene and Arūnė Levuškinienė, teachers at Kalvarija Gimnazija meeting me in Marijampole
Stoklishok, Lithuania
Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/stoklishok/Home.html


Students sing Zog Nit Keynmol for me:

by Geoff Vasil
Source: www.lzb.lt/en/2017/05/31/pre-internet-viral-songs-of-the-vilna-ghetto/
Report by Geoff Vasil with my images

Source: www.lzb.lt/en/2017/05/31/annual-ort-sholem-aleichem-gymnasium-barbat-mitzvah-ceremony/
„Paskutinė mano valia skirta įpėdiniams: tarpusavyje gyventi draugiškai, nekaupti savyje priešiškumo, palaikyti vieniems kitus sunkiu laiku, prisiminti šeimą, užjausti vargšą… Vaikai, didžuokitės mano taip sunkiai užsitarnautu žydišku vardu.“

Source: www.jewishschool.lt/
World Ort Videos:

We feature videos made especially for this project by schools belonging to the World ORT network. See below. To find out more about World ORT, the world’s largest Jewish education and vocati…
Source: Http://elirab.me/ort

Here is an idea for your school students or youth group:
Recite the poem, Zog Nit Keynmol, written by Hirsh Glik 20, in the Vilna ghetto in 1943.
Do it in your own language!
And then SHARE it with us!
The song is the anthem of the Survivors. With their rapidly diminishing numbers, we want our youth to continue the legacy.
Be creative like Giedrius Galvanauskas of Atzalynas Gymnasium in Kedainiai, Lithuania.
Inspired by his English teacher, Laima Ardaviciene, Giedrius used a Lithuanian translation, background music on (1) viola and (2) piano, with a backdrop of old images of his hometown, Kedainiai, and even added English subtitles.
The viola was played by Tzvi Friedl of Perth Australia.
Translated by Roza Tzvi Ben Litay and Sergey Kanovich
Wouldn’t it be great if you recited it in your own language and chose photos from your heritage town and then shared it around the world?
The viola version
The piano version
Here is Aaron Kremer’s English version by Freydl Mrocki of Shalom Aleichem College, Melbourne, Australia.
Tzvi Friedl on the viola
Atzalyno Gimnazija, Kedainiai, Lithuania

The students take me on a multicultural tour of Kedainai, the last stop being the two former synagogue complex, one of only a handful in Lithuania. The centre is run by Rimantas Zirgulis, director …
Source: elirab.me/my-bond-with-atzalyno-gimnazija-a-school-in-kedainiai-2/
Zog Nit Keynmol

New videos have arrived:
ORT Compilation
Mexico CIM ORT
King David High School Victory Park, Johannesburg
Press reports:
Australian Jewish News 27 April 2017

Lithuanian Jewish Community
From the SASIG Newsletter

The SA-SIG Newsletter
Source: www.jewishgen.org/safrica/newsletter/index.htm
Including:
Update on Southern African KehilaLinks sites
A reminder that there are a number of South African KehilaLinks pages which can be found on the JewishGen’s KehilaLinks project web site. (The KehilaLinks project provides a set of web pages which commemorate the places throughout the world where Jews have lived.)
The full list of South African KehilaLinks pages can be found at:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Asia.html
The list now includes the following towns: Benoni, Bloemfontein De Aar, Cape Town, Germiston, Graaff Reinet, Grahamstown, Kwekwe (Que Que) in Zimbabwe, Johannesburg, Kimberley, Muizenberg, Oudtshoorn Pietersburg, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria, Springs, Stellenbosch, Uniondale, Upington, and Witbank.
Eli Rabinowitz, who has created and maintains most of these KehilaLinks sites, is currently in the process of setting up the following new pages: Paarl, South Africa; Maputo, Mozambique; and Mauritius, Africa.
Eli invites you to send him your stories, memories, photos, family biographies, and articles on Jewish life in any of these places, or for any of the existing pages. As examples of the kind of material he is looking for, Eli suggests you refer to the following links:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kimberley
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/graaff_reinet/We rtheim.html
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/nasielsk/Kurtz.ht ml
You can find more information on Eli’s complete set of KehilaLink pages at:
You can contact Eli at eli@elirab.com
For reference, the KehilaLinks project home page can be found at:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/
and
Lions Shul is a special place
The Lions shul is Johannesburg’s longest standing synagogue, still a vibrant, active, and dynamic congregation. The 108 year old synagogue is in pristine condition and the chavershaft (solidarity/equality) is warm and family-oriented. The services are inspirational and the ambiance magnificent.
A video about the synagogue can be found at:
A description of the synagogue on the Johannnesburg KehilaLinks page can be found at:
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/johannesburg/Li ons_Shul.html
and
FIRST COUSINS REUNITED
The story of how Eli Rabinowitz finally found his first cousin, Zara Smushkovich, after being separated for over 35 years
We love hearing stories of families reunited through Geni. Recently, Eli Rabinowitz finally found his first cousin Zara Smushkovich after being separated for over 35 years! The discovery was made thanks to the help of a friendly person on Facebook who found the family tree on Geni.
Read the SA SIG newsletter link for more.

With less than a week to go to Yom Hashoah on 23/24 April, show your solidarity with Survivors by reciting the Partisan Song, Zog Nit Keynmol, in your own language.
Even better, record & share it on Facebook or Twitter. You can also Dropbox or email it to me at eli@elirab.com and I’ll upload it for you!
It can also be in a combination of languages such as Yiddish, Hebrew and English
Here are 15 different language versions for you to choose from:
http://elirab.me/lyrics/
Here is an example of a recitation:
Freidi Mrocki, a teacher at Shalom Aleichem College in Melbourne, recites Aaron Kremer’s English translation:

Want to sing or recite it in Yiddish, Hebrew & English?

Encourage participation by your children and grandchildren by learning the song and its meaning.
Encourage your school or shul choir to learn and to sing it.

We are inspired by Phillip Maisel:
More details at


Zoe Nit Keynmol was written as a poem in Yiddish by 20 year old Hirsh Glik in the Vilna ghetto in 1943.
The words are powerful and inspirational.
It is the anthem of the Survivors. Our goal is to teach it to the next generation of school students so that the legacy can continue!
I have found translations in 14 other languages with some variations within these languages – see Lyrics below.
You can recite it as a poem as it was originally written!
Here is Freidi Mrocki, a teacher at Shalom Aleichem College in Melbourne, reciting Aaron Kremer’s English translation.


Here is an idea for your school students or youth group: Recite the poem, Zog Nit Keynmol, written by Hirsh Glik 20, in the Vilna ghetto in 1943. Do it in your own language! And then SHARE it with …
Here is a combination of Yiddish, Hebrew and English.

Here it is being sung by the Herzlia School Vocal Ensemble in Cape Town during an online class with five schools in the Former Soviet Union in Kiev, Chisinau, Vilnius, Kedainiai and Kalvarija.
The ORT Videos
King David High School Victory Park, Johannesburg
For more languages and versions, click on the link:

Lyrics in Different Languages English Aaron Cremer’s version Lithuanian Žydų Partizanų Daina arba Partizanų Himnas Mes Esame Čia Niekad nesakykite kad jūs išeinate į paskutinį kelią… Tik nie…
Source: elirab.me/lyrics/

We invite you, your school choir or group to sing or recite Zog Nit Keynmol, the Partisan Song. Please record it then share on YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo or send to me by Dropbox and I’ll pos…
Source: elirab.me/schools/

Menu Zog Nit Keynmol – Main Page – scroll down The Legacy of the Partisan Song Hirsh Glik by Phillip Maisel Schools & students sing or recite the anthem, record it and post it on…
Source: elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/
Finally, here is a full page article in the April edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, Cape Town, written by Tali Feinberg.


Hi All
I have added new items to my Jewish Partisan Song portal.
Click on the link – Zog Nit Keynmol below
I have additional resources thanks to the numerous people who wrote to me after I posted messages on JewishGen. Thanks so much.
Have a look at Other Resources as well as Our Vision for this project.
Please share this site with your contacts. You are welcome to subscribe to elirab.me.
Regards
Eli

On 15 February I gave a couple of workshops at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre.

One session was for survivors and the other for staff and members.

(L-R). Eli Rabinowitz & Don Krausz
This was the first time I had presented specifically to a group of survivors, although I had filmed several survivors’ testimonies in the past.
I showed photos from my trips to the Baltics & Eastern Europe as well as some videos from my Zog Nit Keynmol project for King David & Herzlia Schools.
The most noticeable outcome was the positive reaction to my initiative to get our youth learning and singing Zog Nit Keynmol, the Partisan Song.

(L-R). Eli, Veronica Phillips, Barbara Berman
For more details on Zog Nit Keynmol, please visit:
The two key videos to watch are:
the Phillip Maisel Interview
Herzlia’s Vocal Ensemble Sings:
Below is a video of Freidi Mrocki reciting the poem in English. Freidi is the teacher at Sholem Aleichem College in Melbourne, who recorded the interview with Phillip Maisel in 2015.


(L-R). Shirley Sapire, Betty Slowatek, Eli, Margaret Hoffman
Slideshow:


Zog Nit Keynmol – the partisan song
A simple request from King David High School in Johannesburg has now snowballed into an international project involving schools in South Africa, Australia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Moldova.
This is an amazing opportunity for this beautiful and inspiring song to be heard. Sung by young students, it rekindles hope for their and future generations.
Please contact me at eli@elirab.com to find out how your school or organisation can become involved.
Click on the link below and read more details about this anthem and how this project developed.

King David Linksfield

King David Linksfield

King David Victory Park


My radio interview on ChaiFM on 7 February.
Click here Zog Nit Keynmol for more details on the project and videos used in the presentation.

ORT Solomo Aleichemo, Vilnius, Lithuania
On 11 January 2017, I was asked by Rabbi Craig Kacev, head of Jewish Studies at King David Schools, Johannesburg, South Africa, whether I could make a presentation to the students at the Linksfield…
Click here to continue with more details: elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/
Sunday 5 February at 7.30pm
Please join us for a presentation by
ELI RABINOWITZ
Traces and Memories of Jewish Life
Connecting to our Litvak Shtetls



Traces and Memories of Jewish Life
Connecting to our Litvak shtetls
Eli Rabinowitz’s presentation has been compiled from six visits to Litvak lands
His collection of photos and stories showcases:
– the shtetl, where most South Africans originated
– the people on the ground memorialising the shtetl
– the Tolerance Education Centres in schools
– the use of online resources to advance your own heritage research
Gardens Synagogue – Nelson Mandela Auditorium
8 February 2017 at 7:30 pm




Traces and Memories of Jewish Life Connecting to our Litvak shtetls The Great Park Synagogue RCHCC, Johannesburg 5 February 2017 at 7:30pm and The Nelson Mandela Auditorium at the Gardens Shul, C…