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!
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
Cape Town February 2020
Perth to Cape Town via Johannesburg – on SAA
Presentation at Herzlia School on Defiance and the Bielski Partisans
Tea at the Winchester Mansions Hotel, Sea Point
Paragliders in front of the hotel
Queens Road, Sea Point
My grandparents, Isocher and Chasal Zeldin’s house. Our drive to Hout Bay.
Hout Bay
WE ARE HERE! at SA Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth
On Friday 13 March 2020, the South African Friends of Beth Hatefutsoth will be hosting a presentation by Eli Rabinowitz, from Perth.
Eli, who is the founder of the education project the We Are Here Foundation, will be giving a talk accompanied by video footage about the programme for youth across the globe. The foundation focuses on the importance of educating Jewish youth about the Jewish partisans during the World War II. He will be giving an update on the success of this project, which is funded by the US government.
The project which started at schools in Australia is now functioning in Belarus, Lithuania, Israel and the USA. Communities across the globe have been taught to sing the famous Partisans Song (Shir HaPartizanim).
His message is loud and clear: WE MUST NEVER FORGET!
If you would like to attend please email us at museum@beyachad.co.za
For more information please visit the website: https://wah.foundation
WE ARE HERE! An Education Program That Inspires Upstanders










#WeRemember
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
27 January 2020

Holocaust Remembrance Day – The Words THAT Matter!
Words can make a difference – both for good and evil. ORT students have been using the defiantly optimistic words of Vilna poet Hirsh Glik to inspire themselves and others as part of our ongoing campaign to bring Zog nit Keynmol to new generations. This video shows just a few highlights of their stunning recitals of Glik’s lyrics to the song, which is renowned as the anthem of the Jewish partisans.
ORT Multi language: Source Youtube: https://youtu.be/FoN-28ZpJBw
ORT St Petersburg, Russia Recited in English: Source: youtu.be/7zesjCyfE_Y
For more info: please visit https://elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/
“This is the first time I’ve read or heard the poetry of someone from that time. It’s hard for me to imagine how he could have found the time or energy to be creative in those circumstances, but he did. And his verses are very powerful and life-affirming,” Maryusya said.
Learning the lyrics, Maryusya said, had made her think about the Holocaust and its lessons for humanity.
“We have to learn that a person must not be humiliated or destroyed because of their ethnicity, faith or politics,” she said. “We can’t expect everyone to be a saint but the more we protect each other, the more tolerant we are, the stronger humanity will become. The alternative is extinction.”
The Partisans’ Song in English
by Hirsh Glik, as translated by Aaron Kremer
Never say that there is only death for you,
Though leaden skies may be concealing days of blue,
Because the hour we have hungered for near;
Beneath our tread the earth shall tremble — we are here!
From land of palm tree to the far-off land of snow,
We shall be coming with our torment and our woe;
And everywhere our blood has sunk into the earth,
Shall our bravery, our vigor blossom forth.
We’ll have the morning sun to set our day aglow,
And all our yesterdays shall vanish with the foe;
And if the time is long before the sun appears,
Then let this song go like a signal through the years.
This song was written with blood and not with lead;
It’s not a song that summer birds sing overhead;
It was a people among toppling barricades,
That sang this song of ours with pistols and grenades.
Never say that there is only death for you,
Though leaden skies may be concealing days of blue,
Because the hour we have hungered for is near;
Beneath our tread the earth shall tremble — we are here!
Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel School
Western Australia
The World Premiere – the four language Partisan Song
In Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Noongar (Aboriginal)
The World Premiere of the four language Partisan Song

Source: youtu.be/iIJ-rC-DcWA
THE PARTISANS’ Song – in Cape Town
with Survivor Miriam Lichterman
Zog Nit Keynmol – in Cape Town with Miriam Lichterman

Source: youtu.be/GKKZgimSOtE
ORT Kiev #141 – Zog Nit Keynmol
ORT Kiev #141 – Zog Nit Keynmol

The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem #WeRemember
Source: youtu.be/rz3UErZJAJw
ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #3
ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/VxZL6WpkvZw
ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #2
ORT St Petersburg #6 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #2

Source: youtu.be/5mSf5NpIKM4
ORT Moscow #1540 Zog Nit Keynmol
ORT Moscow #1540 Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/9SIY-IZJ9Hc
Lauder School Tula – Zog Nit Keynmol
Lauder School Tula – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/llKaelpDJjE
ORT Kazan #12 – Zog Nit Keynmol
ORT Kazan #12 – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/j-H2duiFNRU
ORT Dnepropetrovsk #144 – Zog Nit Keynmol
ORT Dnepropetrovsk #144 – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/xATkR_FWKV0
ORT #94 Odessa – The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem
ORT #94 Odessa – The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

Source: youtu.be/9qLqSepTb28
ORT #41 Chernivtsi -The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem
ORT #41 Chernivtsi -The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

Source: youtu.be/cEj0RusVgUQ
ORT Kishinev #22 – Zog Nit Keynmol
ORT Kishinev #22 – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/0BtV4yUX4cA
Tallinn Jewish School – Zog Nit Keynmol
Tallinn Jewish School – Zog Nit Keynmol
Source: youtu.be/NytvW0TSgio
WeRemember – Zog Nit Keynmol
WeRemember – Zog Nit Keynmol

Source: youtu.be/SL9FjpzCYNE
School #4 Novogrudok, Belarus
jr
Source: youtu.be/mC-ENiOXrhQ
Simonas Gurevicius & Daughters Sing Zog Nit Keynmol –
Simonas Gurevicius & Daughters Sing Zog Nit Keynmol – YouTube

Source: youtu.be/6BlmPWRpsVg
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.
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
Ngarra Bulla Ferra
Ngarra Bulla Ferra
Richmond FC, Melbourne 8 December 2019
Source: youtu.be/3WNgvqQQGbs
Richmond FC Dinner
Abe Schwarz & Uncle Boydie
William Cooper Legacy Film by David Jack
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
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