WE ARE HERE! in Melbourne

Using memory and legacy to educate the generations that follow, and to create upstanders out of bystanders!

The William Cooper Legacy is gaining momentum!

Special events celebrating William Cooper were held in Melbourne over 5 days in December.

These events connected Upstanders from diverse backgrounds, from the William Cooper Institute at Monash University to the Richmond Football Club, and from The Ark Centre in East Hawthorn to Temple Beth Israel.

Below is my selection of photos which highlights these events, and connects our WE ARE HERE! Human Rights and Social Justice project to the growing world of Upstanders influenced by William Cooper’s once long forgotten protest way back in 1938.

I have also incorporated parts of Barbara Miller’s report into this post. Barbara is William Cooper’s biographer. Thanks Barbara!

The Events- 2019:

Barbara Miller Book Launch
The William Cooper Dinner at Richmond FC
The launch of the William Cooper Institute at Monash University
The special Shabbat at The Ark Centre
The interfaith youth seminar in Ascot Vale
A visit to William Cooper’s former home in Footscray
Some William Cooper icons around Melbourne city
The World Premiere of the Kristallnacht Cantata

The Barbara Miller Book Launch

White Australia Has A Black History is available as a paperback from Barbara Miller’s website, and Barbara would love you to review it on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

The link to the book on Amazon is – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X1MYCDX

The link to the book on Goodreads is https://www.goodreads.com/review/new/47942441-white-australia-has-a-black-history

Barbara giving a talk on William Cooper at an Author Event at Lamm Jewish Library in Melbourne 3 December 2019

Shattered Lives Broken Dreams is at the printer – almost ready to be released!

Barbara on the radio

Barbara Miller:

David Jack interviewing Barbara on J-Air Jewish Radio in Melbourne on 4 December 2019 with Maurice Klein working the desk. The topic was Kristallnacht and William Cooper. It was on the Beersheba Vision program run by Peter Kentley.

Link to the interview:

https://omny.fm/shows/beersheba-vision/4-12-2019-beersheba-vision-ep6-barbara-miller-will?fbclid=IwAR2FJ-NnLDDU9FwuO5yVtHw8LhONQZ-jYb-o5zYi73XQWSmrZkRDEKCQ8d0

Richmond FC Seminar & Dinner

The Seminar

Abe Schwarz

Eli Rabinowitz, Barbara & Norm Miller

My slide – thanks to Stuart Rhine-Davis of Ellenbrook Secondary College

Barbara Miller

The Richmond Football Club and the William Cooper Legacy Project convened by Abe Schwarz hosted a seminar and dinner on 5 December 2019. It announced a new William Cooper Centre which will integrate sport, culture and diversity as the home to the Korin Gamadji Institute emerging Indigenous leaders program, the Bachar Houli Academy, Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) and women’s and community football.

There were four speakers at the seminar – Barbara Miller, biographer of William Cooper, Mike Zervos CEO Courage to Care, a teacher from Parkdale College called Natalie Baker and Eli Rabinowitz, founder, the WE ARE HERE! Project. Nola Kelly, the great-granddaughter of William Cooper, Leonie Drummond, Uncle Boydie’s daughter, shared briefly. Barbara is pictured speaking. A mural of the Tigers AFL players on the wall.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Richmond Tigers

The Table List

Eli Rabinowitz, singer Lior Attar, Tali Kellman and Alex Kats

Professor Jacinta Elston, Monash University and William Cooper’s great grandchildren, Leonie Drummond and Lance Turner, with Eli Rabinowitz

David Jack

Eli, Rabinowitz, Professor Jacinta Elston & Abe Schwarz

Jamil Tye, Roberto D’Andrea & Aunty Di

Eli Rabinowitz, dancers, Abe Schwarz

Eli Rabinowitz, Uncle Boydie Turner, Alex Kats, Kevin Russel, ?, David Jago

William Cooper’s family

SlideShow

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ngarra Bulla Ferra

Richmond FC, Melbourne 8 December 2019

Source: youtu.be/3WNgvqQQGbs

Richmond FC Dinner

Abe Schwarz & Uncle Boydie

Source: youtu.be/CkiFOAL5fzY

William Cooper Legacy Film by David Jack

Source: youtu.be/EN9iMDFEMi4

Monash University Clayton – William Cooper Institute Launch

Eli Rabinowitz, Bill Appleby of Jewish Care & Norm Miller

Eli Rabinowitz & John Gandel

Barbara Miller, Minister Ken Wyatt & Eli Rabinowitz

Leonie Drummond

Dancers

Andrew Markus, Pauline Gandel, Simone Markus & Eli Rabinowitz

Eli Rabinowitz & Vedran Drakulic

Eli Rabinowitz & Professor Susan Elliott

Eli Rabinowitz & Professor Jacinta Elston & Associate Professor Chivonne Algeo

L-R photos – The Hon Minister Ken Wyatt with Barbara and Norman Miller at Monash University, the Unveiling of the plaque at Monash Uni with Uni staff, Cooper family and the Minister, and the Millers with Dr John Gandel AC and Pauline Gandel.

On 6 December 2019, the 81st anniversary of the 1938 AAL protest, Monash University launched the William Cooper Institute. The Gandel family’s philanthropy made the centre possible. Stirring speeches were made by the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians, Mr Ken Wyatt, Chancellor Simon McKeon, the Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Jacinta Elston, Dr John Gandel AC, and Leonie Drummond, Uncle Boydie’s daughter.

Minister Ken Wyatt said that William Cooper cut a pathway for people to follow and showed bravery in the face of opposition. He said William Cooper stepped out and left footsteps in the sand to follow. He said he had recently returned from Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech, had paid tribute to William Cooper.

The Ark Centre – Cross Cultural Shabbat

Rabbi Gabi Kaltman and the ARK Centre held an Indigenous themed Shabbat service and meal honouring William Cooper on 6 December 2019

Eli Rabinowitz, Viv Parry, Lisa Naphtali, Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann, Kate Brocker, Shane Charles & Abe Schwarz

Shane Charles & Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann

A Very Special Duet by Shane Charles & Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann

The Ark Centre Aboriginal Kabbalat Shabbat In Honour of William Cooper Melbourne, Australia 6 December 2019

Source: youtu.be/o-pbcrTtfTQ

The Interfaith Youth Human Rights Seminar in Ascot Vale

Elana Saks

A visit to William Cooper’s House in footscray

The Footscay Railway Station

Eli Rabinowitz & Christine Newman, owner of the William Cooper house.

The William Cooper Justice Centre

The former Nazi Consulate in Melbourne where William Cooper marched to, and left his petition

Kristallnacht Cantata – Temple Beth Israel

The Kristallnacht Cantata: A Voice of Courage held its world premiere on 8 December at Temple Beth Israel St. Kilda, Melbourne. The strident music of the orchestra conveyed the build-up to the Night of the Broken Glass and the shattering of glass and lives that took place. A tribute to William Cooper, the Cantata imagined a moving duet between Cooper and Otto Jontof-Hutter who was arrested in Stuttgart during Kristallnacht along with thousands of other Jews.

Otto’s grandson, world-famous violinist Ron Jontof-Hutter, active in the Berlin-based World Doctors Orchestra but living in Melbourne, conceived the Cantata. An Israeli composer living in Melbourne, Alon Trigger, collaborated with Ron as the lyricist and world-famous conductor Dr David Kram, as musical director, to put the Cantata together.

The event was held in Temple Beth Israel synagogue and Barbara was asked to read a scripture and she chose Isaiah 62:1-7. There was a beautiful performance by the Yeng Gali Mullum Indigenous Choir.

Photos L_R, Uncle Boydie watching the orchestra of the Kristallnacht Cantata and the Yeng Gali Mullum Indigenous Choir.

For the start of the Kristallnacht Cantata, scroll to the 1 hr 41 min mark

back in Perth – On Noongar Radio with Jodi Ryder

Manager: Paul Whitton

April 21, 2019April 21, 2019

Beyachad Educators

From Tachlis, Michele Gogoski & Elona Steinfeld, Beyachad, Johannesburg:

Eli, who is the founder of the We Are Here Foundation, gave an inspirational presentation about the importance of educating Jewish youth about the Holocaust and the Jewish partisans during the World War II. The talk was accompanied by video footage of the youth of various communities across the globe, who have been taught and are being taught to sing the famous Partisans Song – Zog Nit Keyn Mol (Shir HaPartizanim).

His message is loud and clear: WE MUST NEVER FORGET!

For more information please visit the website

WE ARE HERE! An Education Program That Inspires Upstanders

https://wah.foundation

From Stan Smookler on the Good Shabbas Newsletter

http://stantgsm.com/

I attended a Lecture by Eli Rabinowitz @ Beyachad last week, and it was a VERY interesting discussion, the Subject being “ Zog Nit Keynmol’ ( Never say never again), the Partisan’s song…. see https://wah.foundation/ …. I never realized that such a project would have soooo many opinions and ‘Machlokes’ …. The project is to revive the Partisan song that was written by Hirsch Glik in the concentration camps…… The project involves getting schools to start learning the song and of course understanding the meaning…. Eli has teamed up with various Schools, especially in Russia, Poland, Souff Effrikka etc, and World Ort have given him huge assistance, with ORT schools around the World joining in the programme….. The question is ; Should the Song be sung/learnt in any other language than Yiddish, as this is what it was started as…???? Methinks, yes, as it will get lost if not promoted.

At the meeting were a few knowledgeable people in Yiddisher circles, and Saul Issroff ( Absoluuuuut BOFF on Lithuania) from London (Ex PE ‘Amolikke Yoren’), Eli Goldstein who is very involved in the teaching of Yiddish in Joburg, Ishvara Dhyan, who takes walking tours of Joburg, and covers many of the old Yiddisher places, Rabbi Moshe Silberhaft (The Travelling Rabbi) ,Darryl Frankel (King David) Marc Latilla who runs a website Johannesburg 1912, which has a lot of info on many suburbs (in detail) and Joburg City … , https://johannesburg1912.wordpress.com/ where you can find in depth info on Joburg/suburbs….. Tali Nates from the Holocaust Museum also came, and Eli did a show with Howard Feldman on Chai FM 91.7 .. Pictures; http://www.stantgsm.com/category/pictures/4

ChaiFM – my interview by Howard Feldman

ChaiFM

With some of the educators who attended my presentation.

With Elona Steinfeld at SA Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth

Also caught up with:

April 20, 2019April 25, 2019

Coming Up

https://wah.foundation

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.

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.

https://www.iajgs2019.org/educators.cfm

A Special Program for Jewish Educators

Sunday, July 28, 2019

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

http://ctholocaust.co.za

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019

Stellenbosch 2019

Early morning in Stellenbosch

Wednesday 6 March 2019

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Stellenbosch Shul

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/stellenbosch/Home.html

https://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/stellenbosch/Shabbat.html

Meeting Daniella Van Niekerk

Translated the Partisans’ Song into Afrikaans & presented her project on the Jewish wedding ceremony to her ed last year.

Highlight Photos

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Who We Are

THe Partisans’ Song In AFRIKAANS

Translated by Daniella Van Niekerk

STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY, SOUTH AFRICA

Moet nooit sêdaar wag net dood vir jou nie,

alhoewel loodswaar hemele die blou lug mag versteek,

want die uur waarna ons gehunker het, is naby;

die aarde sal bewe onder ons tree – ons is hier!

Van die land van palmbome, tot die vêrre land van sneeu,

sal ons kom met ons pyniging en geween,

en oral waar ons bloed in die aarde ingesyfer het,

sal ons dapperheid, ons krag, uitbloei!

Ons sal die môreson hê om ons dag te laat gloei,

en al ons gisters sal verdwyn saam met ons vyande.

En indien dit nog lank is voor die son weer verskyn,

laat hierdie lied soos ‘n sein voortklink deur die jare.

Hierdie lied is geskryf in bloed, nie lood nie.

Dit is nie ‘n lied wat somervoëls oorhoofs sing nie.

Dit was ‘n volk ter midde van brandende versperrings,

wat die lied van ons gesing het met pistole en grenate.

Moet nooit sêdaar wag net dood vir jou nie,

alhoewel loodswaar hemele die blou lug mag versteek,

want die uur waarna ons gehunker het, is naby;

die aarde sal bewe onder ons tree – ons is hier!

Daniella’s Tour of Stellenbosch University

The Botanical Gardens

Daniella Van Niekerk

Jewish Wedding Class – March 2018

Using resources from Eli Rabinowitz

Enacting Breaking the Glass

Comments by students

Daniella-Comments-1

Daniella-Comments-2

Daniella-Comments-3a

Daniella-Comments-3b

September 26, 2018

October Talks in Sydney

Sunday 7 October- B’nai B’rith – 2:30pm

RSVP to one of our upcoming events to get involved with BBANZ across Australia and New Zealand.

Source: www.bnaibrith.org.au/events/the-partisan-song-invitation

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.

Source: sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/shop/events/lunchtime-lecture-partisan-song-project/

September 6, 2018September 6, 2018

REMEMBERING THE DESTRUCTION OF JEWISH KEIDAN

In August of this year, an article appeared on the website of the Lithuanian municipality of Kėdainiai, under the headline: “With a minute of silence, Kėdainiai met Tel Aviv.” The text described an annual event, begun only a few years ago, commemorating the extermination of Kedainiai’s Jewish community on August 28, 1941, during the Nazi occupation of Lithuania.

At precisely 18:30, local leaders and others observed a minute of silence – while at that same moment, in Israel, descendants of that vanished Jewish community, who called their home Keidan, were doing the same thing.

Two simultaneous ceremonies – one at the hall of the association of the Vilna Jews in Tel Aviv, the other by the mass grave where more than 2,000 Keidan Jews were murdered 77 years earlier.

Such commemorations are a longstanding tradition in Israel, home to thousands of Jews who trace their families to Lithuania. But in Lithuania itself this is relatively new, and still uncommon, tradition. Kėdainiai’s annual observance began several years ago, and has grown each year. This year it was led by Saulius Grinkevičius, mayor of the municipality, and Rimantas Žirgulis, director of the regional museum. The participants included two mayor’s deputies, the heads of local cultural and educational institutions, members of the administration and museum workers, school teachers and other Kėdainiai citizens. A local television station broadcast the ceremony.

The event reflects an important recent change in public consciousness and attitude. To a significant degree, Lithuanians are confronting their country’s painful past. This is reflected in the media, in increased research into local Jewish history and culture, and in the restoration of sites related to Lithuania’s former Jewish communities. In Kėdainiai, the regional museum and its director have played an important role, as have teachers such as Laima Ardavičieneof the Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium, or secondary school. As it was often in the past, Kėdainiai is providing leadership and serving as a role model for other communities in Lithuania.

Supporting those efforts going forward is a recently published English translation of the Keidan yizkor book – a volume of memoirs, historical accounts and other material gathered from survivors and descendants of the Jewish community after World War II. Originally published mostly in Hebrew and Yiddish in 1977, the book offers a multi-faceted view of Jewish life in Keidan – its history, its religious, educational, social and cultural institutions, youth organizations, portraits of its prominent people, recollections of witnesses and survivors before, during and after the Holocaust.

Cover of the Keidan Memorial (Yizkor) Book, recently translated into English. Edited by Aryeh Leonard Shcherbakov aryeh.shcherbakov@gmail.comand Andrew Cassel awcassel@gmail.com of the Keidan Associations of Israel and the U.S.; published by David Solly Sandler sedsand@iinet.net.auin Perth, Australia. The book is obtainable from any of the three above mentioned

Photos of Commemoration in Kedainiai – 28 August 2018

A section of the memorial erected in 2011 at the site of the Jews’ massacre near Kedainiai. Names of the victims were recorded as cutouts in the metal sheet.

At the site of the 28 August 1941 massacre of Kedainiai’s Jews. Mayor Saulius Grinkevičius lays flowers, while Rimantas Žirgulis (in white shirt) observes.

Local students and media participated in the commemoration.

Laima Ardavičiene, a teacher at the Kėdainiai Atžalynas gymnasium, records the event.

Article and photos by :Aryeh Leonard Shcherbakov aryeh.shcherbakov@gmail.com and Andrew Cassel awcassel@gmail.com of the Keidan Associations of Israel and the U.S and David Solly Sandler sedsand@iinet.net.au of Perth, Australia.

Other Compilations of David Solly Sandler

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Johannesburg/Solly.html

Kedainiai Kehilalink

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/kedainiai/

August 30, 2018September 2, 2018

Lita Shtetl Visits – 2018

Siauliai with Sania Kerbilis & Antonina Gainulina

Panevezys with Gennady Kofman

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Master Yuter Family Tree

Panevezys Telephone Directory

Visitors Book

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With Gennady Kofman & a scout group

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Panevezys Lithuania

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/panevezys/Home.html

Josvainiai with Laima Ardaviciene and Harry Gorfine (Australia)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Ukmerge with Vida Pulkaunkiene & Arturas Taicos

Ukmerge, Lithuania

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/ukmerge/Home.html

June 20, 2018

Birzh

This is my second visit to Birzai or Birzh, Lithuania, as it was called. My first was in June 2015

Birzai – My Photos from June 2015

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/birzai/Photos.html

May 2018

I met with Merunas Jukonis, the youth coordinator in the town. He and his dad, Vidmantas, have been very active in working in the field of Tolerance education, Holocaust commemoration and related projects. See report below:

Report by Abel and Glenda Levitt, November 2015

While in Lithuania last week we spent a fascinating 4 days in Birzai, known to the Jews who lived there as Birzh.

On 8th August 1941 the 2400 Jews of the town were marched to the forest where they were all murdered, Men, Women and Children.

There exists in Birzai an ancient Karaite and Jewish cemetery. For years it remained neglected and uncared for.

And then a few years ago, the local teacher of History and Tolerance, Vidmantas Jukonis, together with his son Merunas, also a teacher of History, started a project of cleaning up the cemetery , removing the overgrown grass and weeds, and cutting the trees. They were joined by the local Reformed Lutheran Church where they are members ,and then by a Lutheran community in Germany who came to Birzai in the summer, camped outside the walls of the cemetery, and helped with the work. Later they made contact with SEFER, the well-known organization in Moscow specializing in Jewish Heritage, Sefer conducted a big 3 year academic international project

The participants were:

1) Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization “SEFER” .Moscow

2) Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences .Moscow

3) Centre for the Studies of the Culture and History of East European Jews . Vilnius

4)Birzai Regional Museum “Sela” Birzai

5) Yad Vashem The Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority . Jerusalem

Professionals and Volunteers joined in the project and expertly cleaned the gravestones, identified the names, and mapped out the gravestones that were still there. The leader of the final group was Motl Gordon, a St. Petersburg Jew, who became religious a few years ago, fluent in Yiddish. This final group was funded by the Birzai municipality (half) and by local sponsors, including the family of Sheftel Melamed, the last Jew in Birzai, who passed away on 31st August 2015. The Birzai district municipality also helped with materials, logistics and more.

The Birzai “Ausra” secondary school’s Tolerance Education Centre, headed by Vidmantas Jukonis provided volunteers , citizens of Birzai, who remembered Jews, arranged meetings for those people, and drove groups of students to meet them.

In Birzai on Friday afternoon an event was held to celebrate the completion of the project, and to launch the book that had been written about the project and its findings.

The book, 374 pages , in Russian, was published by SEFER with the help of the GENESIS Philanthropy Group and the UJA FEDERATION OF NEW YORK.

INSIDE OF FRONT COVER

There is little in English in the book. But from the table of contents (in English) it appears that there is much of interest. The book is written in the form of essays written by scholars involved in the project and tables recording the 1627 stones that were found in the cemetery, mostof them with names.

Glenda and I were given a copy. When I asked if we could buy some more, for family and friends with an interest in Birzai (Birzh) Motl Gordon told usthat they had distributed the few copies that they had brought for the event, but that he would enquire from Sefer in Moscowwhat the cost would be to buy.

It is hoped that a translation into English will be available via a PDF document on-line. Attached are photos of the front cover (1), the back cover (2), a photo on the inside front cover (5) and a photo on the inside back cover (6). This book is of great historic importance.

A rough check of the list of tombstones shows that the last two tombstones to be erected and that remain are those of Barukh Michaelson (he was the famous town photographer) who died on 13th July 1939, and Herce (Hirsch) Evin, who died in 1940. Michaelson’s tombstone was found buried during the work on the cemetery and restored. It should be noted that after the Soviet occupation in June 1940 Jewish religious life came to a halt and it is probable that no further Jewish funerals and consecration of tombstones took place. There was however a tombstone dated 1945. And the newer tombstones from the ’30’s were probably stolen and used in building as was the case throughout Lithuania.

Bennie Rabinowitz and The Birzh Torah

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/birzai/Torah.html

The Birzai KehilaLink

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/birzai/Home.html

My Photos, May 2018

A short walk around town. Old buildings in the former Jewish area.

Merunas’s Lutheran Church

Merunas’s High school

Lunch Time and enjoying kvass

Kvass

Kvass is a traditional Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread ,[1] known in many Eastern European countries and especially in Ukraine and Russia as black bread. The colour of the bread used contributes to the colour of the resulting drink. It is classified as a non-alcoholic drink by Russian standards, as the alcohol content from fermentation is typically low (0.5–1.0%).[2][3] It may be flavoured with fruits such as strawberries and raisins, or with herbs such as mint.[4]

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass

Sinkholes in Birzai

Biržai Regional Park

Biržai Regional Park covers 14,659 hectares (36,220 acres) in northern Lithuania near its border with Latvia. It was established in 1992 to preserve a distinctive karst landscape. About 20% of its area is covered by forest.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birzai_Regional_Park

More About Biržai

Biržai ( pronunciation (help·info), known also by several alternative names) is a city in northern Lithuania. Biržai is famous for its reconstructed Biržai Castle manor, and the whole region is renowned for its many traditional-recipe beer breweries.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birzai

June 19, 2018June 20, 2018

Shavlan

May 2018

This is my second visit to Siaulenai, Lithuania, the first being in 2016. Once again I did not seem to be able to find the location of the Jewish cemetery. Siaulenai or Shavlan as it was known, was the shtetl of my wife, Jill Reitstein Rabinowitz’s maternal Saevitzon and Meyerowitz families.

How frustrating, as Shavlan is not exactly around the corner from where I live, in Perth Australia, nor for that matter, anywhere else! However, there is good news!

Please read on:

A Stone with a Story

by Jill’s cousin, Richard Shavei-Tzion in Israel

9 July 2015

The picture below is of the tombstone of my father’s father’s father (all of us first- born so it happens.) You can work out your connection from that. Abba Saevitzon died in Johannesburg 103 years ago. I have been searching for his grave for a long time and with our impending trip to SA I thought I would have another try. This time the Johannesburg Chevra Kaddisha really came through.

This story is cobbled together from anecdotes I have heard over the years. The family, Abba (first time I see that his English name was Albert), his wife Chai Sarah, 3 sons, Morris, Sam and Harry and daughter Bunty arrived in Cape Town from Savlan (?) a small town in White Russia, in 1911. Shortly thereafter he heard of a work opportunity in Johannesburg and the family travelled north using their remaining funds. Within a month Abba passed away and was buried in the local Braamfontein cemetery. However the survivors had no financial means with which to purchase a tombstone. They somehow travelled back to Cape Town where the older kids were sent to foster homes. My grandfather Morris aged 14, lived in such a home and spent his days working at the Cape Town docks, receiving fish as they came off the fishing boats, cleaning them and carting them to the local fish market. Ruthy and Geoffrey both recall that they hardly saw him as kids because he was working so hard to ensure that they would be well educated. You can see where his motivation came from.

Anyway, a number of years later the family had scraped together enough funds to travel back to Johannesburg, purchase a stone and consecrate it. I personally am humbled by such an act of loving kindness. While scanning through hundreds of gravestones in the cemetery, of Jews who died in the first quarter of the 20th century, I was amazed to find that the average lifespan was 50 odd. As someone who has just turned 60, how fortunate I feel!

The stone indicates that he died on the second day of Succot and that his father’s name was Yitschak. Who knows when the name “Abba” first appeared in the family, but my father and his cousin Monty were both named after him and of my nephews and grandsons, at least 3 are named in his memory so the tradition lives on.

All being well, when we are in Johannesburg I plan on visiting the grave. It will be a privilege.

Richard Shavei-Tzion

What I Call Beschert

by Richard Shavei Tzion

In April 2016, after he visited Johannesburg

Richard Shavei-Tzion stands between his grandparents’ and his wife’s grandparents’ graves facing each other amongst tens of thousands in the Pinelands Cemetery, Cape Town

My family’s experience reflects the migratory patterns of South African Jewry, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the cemeteries of Cape Town. None of my great-great-grandparents is buried there, all having lived and died in Europe. Yet, with one exception, all of my great-grandparents and grandparents are laid to rest in these well-ordered cemeteries. They arrived between 1895 and 1916, three Litvak families and one from England, again a fair representation of South African Jewry’s roots.

The Jewish cemeteries in South Africa are for the most, lovingly maintained with the care that typifies Jewish communal life in the country. This is a community which thrives on an ethos of shared responsibility and mutual care. Despite its diminished number (now approximately 70,000 souls, down from 110,000 in the 1960’s) its institutions are thriving and the various burial societies are at the forefront of this phenomenon.

Unmarked children’s graves at Braamfontein Cemetery, Johannesburg

The Pinelands Cemetery in Cape Town has tens of thousands of graves. It is a well-ordered place with tombs marked by relatively standardized black upright stones. All of the graves appear on an online data base. A while ago, an American therapist friend asked if I could help her elderly South African client who had been distressed for years because she did not know her late mother’s Hebrew name. Within minutes I was able to provide her name and Yahrzeit and a photograph of the tombstone.

It is my custom to visit my ancestors’ tombstones once every few years when I travel to Cape Town from my home town of Jerusalem. Some years ago I went to visit my paternal grandparents Morris and Fanny Saevitzons’ graves. When I turned to leave, I was stunned by what I saw opposite. Call it cosmic chance, coincidence or “basheert”, but there, directly facing my grandparents’ tombstones, were the tombstones of Harry and Mina Lonstein, my wife’s maternal grandparents.

I mentioned that I have one ancestor who is not buried in Cape Town. Therein lies a story. I have been searching for this “missing” grave for a long time and with an impending trip to South Africa I thought I would try again. This time, between an intensive search of Internet sources and correspondence with the Johannesburg Chevra Kadisha, the self-styled “Chev”, we were able to locate the grave.

I happen to be an oldest son of an oldest son of an oldest son. My paternal great-grandfather, Abba Meir (Albert) Saevitzon together with his wife Chai Sarah and three sons arrived in Cape Town from Savlan, a small town in White Russia, in 1911. Their daughter was born within a few weeks of their arrival.

Almost immediately, Abba heard of a work opportunity in Johannesburg and the family travelled north, using all their remaining funds. Tragically, within a month he passed away and was buried in Johannesburg. The widowed, penniless Chai Sarah had no financial means with which to purchase a tombstone and was forced to leave the grave unmarked. She and her children returned to Cape Town with donated funds, where the older boys were sent to foster homes.

My grandfather, Morris, aged 14, lived in such a home and spent his days working at a local fishing harbor, cleaning fish as they came off the fishing boats, then carting them to the local fish market. He later became a fisherman and then worked in his father-in-law’s delicatessen store in the suburb of Wynberg, the heart of Cape Town’s Jewish community at that time. My aunt and uncle recall that as kids they hardly saw their father because he was working so hard to ensure that they would be well educated. You can see where his motivation came from. When I think of the “problems” we face in our day-to-day lives compared to those of my ancestors, I am chastened.

Yet even as the destitute family slowly began to establish itself, they did not forget their loved one’s burial place. So it was that a number of years after Abba’s passing, using the first of their savings, the family travelled for two days by train back to Johannesburg, purchased a tombstone and consecrated it.

On a typically cool but cloudless Johannesburg winter day I set out for the Westpark Cemetery, where Jews have been buried since around 1945. From there I was kindlyaccompanied by Mr. Braam Shevel who works at the Chev, to the Braamfontein Cemetery in what is now a very grungy area of the city.

Johannesburg was formally established in 1886 with the discovery of gold in the area and when the first Jew died there in 1887, a delegation of leaders of the emerging Jewish community travelled, one would imagine by horse or ox-wagon, to Pretoria to petition Paul Kruger for land for a Jewish cemetery. Kruger, president of the break-away South African Republic, and later the leader of the Boers in the Anglo-Boer War, acceded to their request and the first of approximately 90,000 Jewish graves in Johannesburg to date was dug there in Braamfontein.

Richard Shavei-Tzion at the grave of his great-grandfather at Braamfontein Cemetery, Johannesburg

Braam unlocked the heavy iron gate at the entrance to the cemetery, signaled me to drive in and locked the gate behind us. I was surprised by my feeling of peace and tranquility in this place despite its uncertain surroundings. The cemetery, shaded by tall, aged eucalyptus trees, is well maintained despite its age. As we searched for the stone, we passed tombs of the founders of the community and its institutions, mayors and mining magnates, famous personalities and the regular men and women who were drawn to the fledgling metropolis. Striking were the ages of people who died just one hundred years ago. By my very rough calculation, the average life span of the adults was no more than fifty years. Then there were the rows of children’s and infants’ graves, stark evidence of the rates of child mortality and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19.

And then from a little way off I spotted the name SAEVITZON and approached the stone, with an inexplicable sense of thanksgiving and reverence. It was in remarkable condition and I discovered that Abba Saevitzon died on the second day of Succot, having lived 37 years. Who knows when the name Abba first appeared in the family, but my father and his cousin were named after him and a number of my nephews and grandsons are named in my father’s memory so the tradition lives on.

Looking around, I noticed many unmarked graves, some whose names were unknown; others whose names were not marked for similar financial reasons and I was humbled by this act of care, sacrifice and loving kindness on the part of my ancestors.

I placed four stones on the grave, one for each of his children’s families,and turned to go.

Source: Esra Magazine

Chai Sarah Meyerowitz Saevitzon’s tombstone in Cape Town. Very indisctinct but some of the wording can be deciphered as you zoom in.

http://www.esra-magazine.com/blog/author/Richard%20Shavei%20Tzion-706

Richard Shavei Tzion

Cape Town born Richard Shavei-Tzion is an autodidact in all his fields of creative activity. At age 18 he was invited to conduct the Pine Street Shul Choir in Johannesburg. Since then he has directed choral ensembles in both South Africa and Israel. For the past 20 years he has directed the Ramatayim Men’s Choir, Jerusalem which has grown from an ad hoc group of 4 friends into an internationally renowned ensemble consisting of 40 singers. He has conducted High Holidays services for the past 35 years in South Africa, Israel, the U.S.A. and Canada and is often invited to lead communal events, singing and playing guitar. He also composes and arranges Jewish music, mainly for the RMC.

His poetry has been published widely over decades. In 2015 the Municipal Art Gallery of Jerusalem displayed his photographic works in a solo exhibition which received popular and critical praise. He is the author of the “Prayer for the Preservation of the Environment” which has been read in synagogues of all denominations and other venues around the world and he writes articles of social and cultural interest.

An accountant by profession, Richard manages a property development and management company. He and his wife Cheryl nee Gantovnik who was born in Durban, have three daughters and sons-in-law and seven grandchildren. Their recently released family CD “Round Table,” has been received warmly.

Descendants of Abba Meir Saevitzon and Chai Sarah Meyerowitz

Descendant Chart Abba Meir Saevitzon

My first visit, June 2016:

My first visit to this town was not so successful. I searched for the Jewish cemetery, asked at the Christian cemetery, and was told by locals that there was a Jewish cemetery on the other side of town. I couldn’t find it and I ran out of time.

I later emailed Sandra Petrukonyte of Maceva, who kindly replied:

Dear Eli,

It is so pity that you could not find. I tried to search for exact location. The map is attached (for your future journey!).
It is seems that the way to the cemetery is not marked by any sign, the path is not paved and the cemetery itself is in a small distant forest. Not surprising that you got lost.

MACEVA does not have own photos, therefore I am adding links to another websites with general view of the cemetery:

http://kvr.kpd.lt/#/static-heritage-detail/0fb28967-e816-4101-9930-978e9dc5588a . Photos were taken almost 2 years ago. According to their data, about 40 tombstones remained. Judging from my experiecne, usually amount of tombstones is bigger than Lithuanian Culture Department claims…
http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Siaulenai/Cemetery%20pictures.html Several pretty old photos. Probably you have seen this.

So, I will revisit next time.

Here are some of my images taken in 2016:

May 2018

Once again I initially couldn’t find the cemetery. Google Maps did not recognise the address in Sandra’s link and I somehow missed her map from 2016.

However, I returned to the Christian cemetery and asked those working there. I wasn’t hopeful as they appeared the type to be unlikely to understand English. However, I spotted someone younger, Gytenis Sudintas. His English was good (he is in IT). However, he wasn’t a local! To his credit, he asked around and was directed to a man who lives across the road from the Christian cemetery. I do not recall this man’s name, but he is also in the photo below. He put on his shirt and shoes, got into his car and told us to follow him in my car.

About 7 minutes later, we were at the “entrance” of the Jewish cemetery. I would like to thank both of them for their invaluable help.

On the other side of the town – we find the cemetery!

With Gytenis Sudintas and the man who we followed

Photos of matsevot in the cemetery

So now to see if any belong to the family!

Siaulenai KehilaLink

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Siaulenai/

Jewish Quarter circa 1915

Shavlan – A Woman’s Journey to Independence

Sarah Taube cowers in the bakery cellar clutching her three children, listening to the sounds of shooting and shouting by the White Cossacks during a pogrom. In order to survive, she enters into a bargain with the ruthless Commissar, Dimitri, an orthodox Jew transformed by tragedy into a high-ranking Bolshevik. Will Dimitri be able to protect Sarah Taube and her family? Will Sarah Taube be reunited with her wanderlust husband who leaves for South Africa to seek his fortune and find himself, and will she realize her life long dream to go to America?

Source: shavlan.com