Witnessing Holocaust History – In The Press
Witnessing Holocaust History: From Generation To Generation
Witnessing Holocaust History: From Generation To Generation – A New Global Project Partnership between WE ARE HERE! Perth, Australia, HAMEC Philadelphia and World ORT, London #education
From: Eli Rabinowitz
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 2020

Perth, Australia
This global program will start with 19 ORT schools on 27 January 2021, and will continue with more schools for Yom Hashoah through 8/9 April 2021
Website:
https://wah.foundation/witnessing-holocaust-history-from-generation-to-generation/
Press Statement from HAMEC:
WITNESSING HOLOCAUST HISTORY: FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
WITNESSING HOLOCAUST HISTORY: FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
HAMEC ORT WAH! Ruth Almy Intro 27 January 2021
Source: youtu.be/Fqm3R-h6RPE
Participating ORT Schools for the 27 January 2021 event are:
Country/ City | Timezone | School |
Mexico/ Mexico City | CST | CIM-ORT |
South Africa/ Cape Town | SAST | Herzlia |
South Africa/Johannesburg | SAST | King David Victory Park High |
Bulgaria/Sofia | EEST | Dimcho Debelianov Hebrew and English Language School |
Netherlands/ Amsterdam | CET | JSG Maimonides |
Spain/Madrid | CET | ORT Colegio Estrella Toledano |
Russia/ St Petersburg | MST | ORT de Gunzburg Secondary School # 550 “Shorashim” |
Russia/ Samara | SST | Samara ORT Secondary School# 42, “Gesher” |
Russia/ Moscow | MST | ORT Tekhiya, Center of Education # 1311 |
Russia/Moscow | MST | ORT Moscow Technology School, Gymnasium # 1540 |
Russia/ Kazan | MST | ORT “Mishpahteinu” Secondary School # 12 |
Ukraine/ Chernivtsi | EEST | ORT Specialized School #41 |
Ukraine/ Kiev | EEST | Kiev ORT Educational Complex #141 |
Ukraine/ Odessa | EEST | ORT Secondary School # 94 |
Ukraine/ Zhaporozhie | EEST | ORT “Aleph” Jewish Gymnasium |
Moldova/ Kishinev | EEST | ORT Technology Lyceum |
Estonia/ Tallinn | EEST | ORT Tallinn Jewish School |
Latvia/ Riga | EEST | ORT Network Jewish Secondary School |
Lithuania/ Vilnius | EEST | Vilnius Sholom Aleichem ORT School |
Bielski Reunion, Belarus
For more info about this post, contact Eli Rabinowitz eli@elirab.com
The World Premiere of the four language Partisan Song
The World Premiere of the four language Partisan Song
Ellenbrook Secondary College & Carmel High SchoolAt Ellenbrook Secondary College5 August 2019
Source: youtu.be/iIJ-rC-DcWA

The Partisans’ Song in Māori – A World First
Translated by Hēmi Kelly
Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whāoa
Researcher | Te Ipukarea, The National Māori Language Institute
Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

Kaua rawa e mea ko te mate anahe tō huarahi,
Ahakoa āraia ana te kiko o te rangi e te pōuriuri,
Kei te tata mai te wā kua roa e tāria ana;
Ka rū te whenua i te takahi a ngā wae – ki te haka!
Mai i te whenua o te nīkau, ki te whenua kōkēi o te huka,
E haere nei mātou i runga i te kōharihari me te tiwhatiwha;
Katoa ngā wāhi i pipī ai ō mātou toto ki te papa,
Ka puāwai mai i reira tō mātou māia me tō mātou kaha.
Ka whiti tonu te rā i te ata, ka ao te rangi,
Katoa ngā raru o nanahi ka ngaro me te hoa kakari;
Ā, ki te roa te wā i mua i te aranga mai anō o te rā,
Tukua mā tēnei wai ngā tau e whakaaomārama.
I titongia ai tēnei waiata ki te toto, kaua ki te matā;
Ehara i te waiata e haria ai e ngā manu o ō te raumati rā
Engari nā te iwi i te kauhanga riri a Tū,
Tēnei waiata a mātou i hari ki te pū me te pohū.
Kaua rawa e mea ko te mate anahe tō huarahi,
Ahakoa āraia ana te kiko o te rangi e te pōuriuri,
Kei te tata mai te wā kua roa e tāria ana;
Ka rū te whenua i te takahi a ngā wae – ki te haka!
Sir Ronald Harwood: Obit by Abel Levitt
Plunge, Lithuania

Sir Ronald Harwood
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Harwood
The Ronald Harwood International Art Competition
More artwork to follow….
Abel Levitt on the passing of Sir Ronald Harwood from natural causes at his home in Sussex on 8 September 2020, at age 85.
Abel:
I would like to write specifically about Ronald’s connection to Plungyan in Lithuania and his visit there with his wife Natasha in 2005.
I grew up with Ronnie Horwitz. We started school at the Kings Road Primary School in 1941, in the same class of sub A. We completed our schooling at Sea Point Boys’ High in 1951. Throughout our school lives we were in the same class, at Kings Road, at Sea Point Junior and at Sea Point Boys’ High. We lived close to one another, Ronnie in Victoria Road Bantry Bay, and, I, 150 yards away in Brompton Avenue. We were in the Cubs and Scouts together at the 10th Green and Sea Point, We played tennis together, watched cricket at Newlands together, competed with one another at the Eisteddfods.
At school, Ronnie took the lead in the school plays. He was outstanding. After we had finished writing our matric exams, Ronnie left for London, to study Dramatic Art, dropped out of the Royal Academy due to financial difficulties, and the rest, as they say, is history. A career of writing and leadership. We maintained a loose relationship, the occasional phone call when I was in London, but we did spend a day together after watching his acclaimed play “Taking Sides”.
It was whilst reading his novel “HOME” that I learned for the first time that Ronald’s father Isaac Horwitz had emigrated from Lithuania. In half a lifetime, our fathers’ ancestry was not a subject of discussion. Glenda and my journey to Lithuania had already began, when I read Ronnie’s book “Home” and discovered that both of our fathers were from Plungyan. I called Ronnie. “What about you and Natasha joining us in a trip to our shtetl Plungyan” I asked. The reply was immediate. And the date 25th May agreed upon, with our guide Regina to be our leader.
The meeting at the airport was emotional. Ronnie had recently been awarded the Oscar for writing the screenplay of what was to become a Holocaust Classic “The Pianist”. And here he was, with his dear wife Natasha, in Lithuania.
Our journey to Plungyan was via Kovno where we visited Eugenijus Bunka, the son of the “Last Jew in Plungyan”, and our friend and partner in our Plungyan ventures. Eugenijus was in hospital, recovering from an operation. He would not be with us on the upcoming welcome to the Oscar winner.
Upon our arrival in the town our first stop was at the apartment of Yacovas Bunka. During the few years of Lithuanian independence from the Soviet occupation, Yacovas Bunka had welcomed some hundreds of Plungyaner Jews. Few would have been of the international stature of the writer, playwright, literary giant and Oscar winner as Ronald Harwood. There was an immediate warm relationship although Bunka spoke no English and Ronald did not understand Yiddish.
The following morning we proceeded to the mass graves, where 1800 Plungyan Jews had been murdered by the Germans and their Lithuanian Collaborators in July 1941. The mass graves in Plungyan are special .The acclaimed sculptor Bunka, together with his Lithuanian sculptor friends had carved the sculptures which stand as sentinels overlooking the mass graves. These mass graves in the Kausenai Forest have been described by some as the most impressive in the whole of Eastern Europe. Ronald did not have family who had remained in Lithuania, but he walked around, silent, as he absorbed the sanctity of the moment. He was profoundly moved. The photo of Ronald sitting quietly on a bench describes the emotion of the visit.
Our next visit was to the Saules Gymnasium. The headmaster Jouzas Milacius welcomed his important guests, the Harwood’s, in one of the multiple European languages that he spoke, but not a word of English. Jouzas is a true friend of ours, a man who was directly helpful when we proposed the establishment of a Tolerance Education Centre in his school. The pupils were assembled in the hall, waiting for the guests to arrive. They were well prepared. Every class had seen the film, “The Pianist”, and had lessons about the Warsaw ghetto uprising. And here they were, seated and waiting to hear from Ronald. The students were riveted by Ronald’s charm and dynamic personality.
The questions were intelligent. These children had as a teacher Danute Serapiniene, a committed and sincere lady who since 1995 had been teaching children about the Holocaust and about the Jews who lived in their town Plunge.
In the evening there was an event at the local Ogynski Palace where Ronald addressed the intellectuals of the town, relating his experiences of working in Poland with the director of the film Roman Polansky. Again the audience interacted with his engaging and charismatic personality and interacted with many questions about the film.
The following morning was a scheduled meeting with the mayor of Plunge, all arranged by the school? We sat in the mayor’s office, listening to the usual welcome and niceties.
And then Ronald Harwood spoke. I remember his words very clearly. “Mr. Mayor, I know that you have difficulties with budgets. I appeal to you, whatever you do don’t reduce the budgets for culture. To do so will be to the detriment of your society.”
As we walked down the stairs at the conclusion of the meeting, Glenda looked at me, and I looked back at her. We were both thinking of the very same thing. That was to create an art competition, called “The Ronald Harwood Holocaust Art competition“. Ronald’s words to the mayor of Plunge had inspired us and since that time the Ronald Harwood Art Competition has grown from a local event, to a regional event and to a national event. The word “Art” has become “Arts” as all forms of art are part of the competition today. Painting, drawing, sculpture, drama, music and writing.
We were present at the 10th anniversary of the Ronald Harwood Arts Competition, held in the Plunge Town Hall. There was an exhibition of prize-winning art works from previous years and entries from throughout Lithuania. The International School in Vilnius arrived with two full busloads of children of all ages who took part in a musical play, in Lithuanian, English and Yiddish with
Vilna and the Holocaust as the theme.
On Friday night at our hotel in the nearby resort of Plateliai we had a traditional Friday night dinner with candle lighting and Kiddush. Our guests included teachers from the district.
Before leaving Plungyan we had a special visit to make. Living in the centre of the town was Kazys Vitkevicius and his wife. As a 14year old in 1941 Kazys had helped his mother to save Jewish girls. He did this by digging pits in which he hid the girls covered by branches, and bringing them food. Both his mother and Kazys were honoured by Yad Vashem and became Righteous among the Nations. Ronald and Natasha were visibly moved at the experience of meeting this special man.
And so back to Vilnius where Ronald addressed the students at the Sholem Aleichem Jewish Day School. Again, the subject was the movie The Pianist and once more the children at the school were enthralled by the charm and competence of the writer of the script of the film
The Harwoods returned to their home in London after an experience which Ronald told me was something beyond his expectations.
For us, that experience of being with my lifelong friend in the land of the birth of our fathers, to witness the appreciation of the young people of the artistry of Ronald Harwood inspired us to talk about Tolerance Education and to display the winning art works from the Ronald Harwood competition in countries around the world, including South Africa and Lithuania.
Abel Levitt

———————
Sea Point High School
Sea Point High School – Wikipedia
Sea Point High School, formerly Sea Point Boys High School, is a co-educational public high school in Main Road, Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. The school was established on 21 April 1884. In 1925, the senior grades were separated from the junior grades. In 1989, the school merged with Ellerslie Girls’ High School after becoming co-educational.
Sea Point Boys connected to Plunyan
- Sir Ronald Harwood (Horwitz)
- Sir Antony Sher
- Abel Levitt
- Eli Rabinowitz (KehilaLink manager)
Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/plunge/Home.html



Keidan Commemoration 28 August 2020
Greetings to all our Keidaner community and friends!
from Aryeh (Leonard) Shcherbakov
secretary of the Association of Keidaners in Israel

For those of you who are not members of the “Roots in Keidan” group on Facebook, and couldn’t attend the commemoration meeting, we send the following note.
As you know, yesterday, Friday, August 28, 2020, we commemorated the 79th anniversary of extermination of our families, who were brutally slaughtered together with all Jewish community of Kėdainiai (Keidan) in one single day – on August 28, 1941.
Two simultaneous commemoration ceremonies were held at 11:00, one – in Israel, by the memorial dedicated to the lost communities of Kėdainiai, Ariogala, Dotnuva, Krakės, and Šėta, at the old cemetery in Holon, another – in Lithuania, by the mass grave in Kėdainiai.
The first one was conducted by a number of descendants of the Keidan Jewish community living in Israel, the second – by our Lithuanian friends in Kėdainiai, who are faithfully devoted to the preservation of memory of our community.
Israel 28 August 2020
Kedainiai, Lithuania 28 August 2020
We thank all those who attended – both in Lithuania and Israel – as well as those who were with us at this sad hour.
Our special thanks to Mrs.Laima Ardavičienė, who prepared a touching presentation commemorating the tragic fate of our community – “Every single man has a name”:
https://view.genial.ly/5f467a84ab36c80d5988f1ef/presentation-every-single-man-has-a-name
With best regards,
Aryeh (Leonard) Shcherbakov
secretary of the Association of Keidaners in Israel
ashcherbakov@hotmail.com
Kedainiai June 2019

Israel Jul 2019



Elected to IAJGS Board
August 2020, For release: Upon receipt
Contact: Sandra Golden, Publicity Chair, IAJGS, publicity@iajgs2020.org
Perth resident elected to International Jewish Genealogy Board
Eli Rabinowitz, a Perth, Australia, resident, was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) at its International Jewish Genealogy Conference, presented virtually on Aug. 12. The Conference drew more than 2300 registrants from 28 countries.
Eli has researched his family’s genealogy and associated Jewish cultural history for over 30 years. A South African-born Australian, Eli has travelled extensively, writing about Jewish life, travel and education on his website, Tangential Travel and Jewish Life. http://elirab.me
Eli writes and manages 87 Jewishgen KehilaLinks, and over 750 WordPress posts. His articles have appeared in numerous publications. Eli has lectured internationally: at educational institutions, commemorative events, at IAJGS and other conferences, and online platforms.
He established the Partisans’ Song Project, and was awarded a U.S. government cultural grant for his WE ARE HERE! Human Rights and Social Justice initiative, https://wah.foundation.
Eli has an Economics Honours degree from the University of Cape Town.
IAJGS is an umbrella organization of more than 91 Jewish genealogical organizations worldwide. The IAJGS coordinates and organizes activities such as its annual International Conference on Jewish Genealogy and provides a unified voice as the spokesperson on behalf of its members. The IAJGS’s vision is of a worldwide network of Jewish genealogical research organizations and partners working together as one coherent, effective and respected community, enabling people to succeed in researching Jewish ancestry and heritage. Find the IAJGS at: www.iajgs.org and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/iajgsjewishgenealogy.
They Are Returning – A Year On!
Atzalynas Gimnazija, Kedainiai Lithuania
Reflecting back to June 2019
Rabbi Dan Fink
Bobbie Lamont
Eli Rabinowitz
13 June 2019
VIDEO OF OUR EVENT IN LITHUANIA
They Are Returning
ââTILTAI-BRIDGES-×ר××§×â’
For video, click here:
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZXBEuPfeFc


Photos of our group – descendants of Keidaners
At the school
At the cemetery
At the Holocaust site
Vale Simonas Dovidavicius.
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.

We Are Here – Now!
How an idea has progressed around the globe!
From: UK Jewish Telegraph Manchester – May 2018
To: Philadephia – April 2020
Highlights
Australia 2019
Melbourne, Australia
The William Cooper Legacy




Maroopna VIC, Australia 2019

London 2019 – World ORT

Johannesburg – ORT SA

The Together Plan 2019

Birzh Lithuania 2019



Kedainiai, Lithuania 2019


Israel 2019

Belarus 2019



IAJGS Conference in Cleveland 2019

South Africa

Zog Nit Keynmol on Yom Hashoah 2020
Zog Nit Keynmol on Yom Hashoah 2020
South Africa – Footage from SAJBD Facebook Live Stream with thanks
Source: youtu.be/ab_o311MR6Y
Choir Performances | WE ARE HERE!
Choir Performances | WE ARE HERE!
At Perth Modern School at Kristallnacht Commemoration on 10 November 2019 The joint choir of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel High School The World Premiere performance at Ellenbrook Secondary
Source: wah.foundation/program/

Yom Hashoah – The Partisans’ Song Legacy
Commencing tonight, on 20 April 2020, and continuing tomorrow, on the 21st, corresponding to the 27th day of Nisan, the State of Israel and many Jews around the globe, commemorate the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, as well as the heroism of survivors, and Jewish Partisans and rescuers.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdown, regular ceremonies will not be held.
We have compiled this YouTube highlights video to give you a perspective of why the the Partisans’ Song is so integral to a meaningful commemoration:
Educators and students are welcome to download a functional powerpoint presentation (1.8gb) that matches this video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18g67tFpg0YpKtAp2dtSX1J1CyUTOsVeQ/view?usp=sharing
I can also run an online ZOOM presentation for your school or organisation. Please contact me at eli@elirab.com to arrange this. There is no charge for this or the accompanying lesson plans and films.
Here is a pdf of the List of Slides on my presentation:
A List of Slides
Here is more information for you:
Yom Hazikaron laShoah ve-laG’vurah or Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In Israel, flags are lowered to half-mast, there is no public entertainment; ceremonies are held, and a siren at 10:00 signals the start of two minutes of silence.
The ceremonies held, usually conclude with Zog Nit Keynmol, the Partisans’ Song and Hatikvah.
“Zog nit keyn mol” (Never Say; Yiddish: זאָג ניט קיין מאָל, [zɔg nit kɛjn mɔl]) or “Partizaner lid” (Partisan Song) is a Yiddish song considered one of the chief anthems of the Holocaust survivors and is sung in memorial services around the world.
The lyrics of the song were written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick, a young Jewish inmate of the Vilna Ghetto. The title means “Never Say”, and derives from the first line of the song. Glick’s lyrics were set to music from a pre-war Soviet song written by Pokrass brothers, Dmitri and Daniel, “Терская походная” (Terek Cossacks’ March Song), also known as “То не тучи – грозовые облака” (Those aren’t clouds but thunderclouds), originally from the 1937 film I, Son of Working People (story by Valentin Kataev).
Glick was inspired to write the song by news of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. During World War II, “Zog nit keyn mol” was adopted by a number of Jewish partisan groups operating in Eastern Europe. It became a symbol of resistance against Nazi Germany‘s persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For more information on the WE ARE HERE! Foundation, a not for profit organisation, please visit:
WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders
WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders
For Upstanders – Founded by Eli Rabinowitz
Source: wah.foundation