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
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
Coming Up in the UK, Europe and Israel in June, Europe and the US in July, and Australia in August!
I will be participating in:
a commemoration in June in Birzai & a shabbat weekend in Kedainiai, Lithuania;
an eight day educators’ seminar in June at the International School of Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem;
a 100-strong gathering in Novogrudok, Belarus in July, where a full and interesting program will include learning about the Partisans’ Song, and then singing it in the Naliboki Forest, where the Bielski’s lived and hid from 1942 to 1944;
the IAJGS39 conference in Cleveland in July, where I am giving two presentations, including one as part of the educators program – see below; and
WE ARE HERE! An Education Program That Inspires Upstanders in Australia in August.This educational program, which promotes universal human rights and inclusive development, is funded by the US Dept of State, and brings Holocaust educator and specialist Nance Adler of Seattle to Australia.
POSTED
Busy times ahead!
Chag Pesach Sameach and Happy Easter
Please contact me for further details.
Best regards
Eli
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Further details:
I have been invited to be one of six speakers who will presentat the Educators Program at IAJGS39 (International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies) in Cleveland OH, USA on 28 July, the opening event at thisconference.
My topic is:
Projects That Draw Youth to Ancestral Roots.
The details appear below
My second talk is on 30 July on the WE ARE HERE! Project for Upstanders.
The IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy is being held in Cleveland for the first time. It features a special day designed specifically for Jewish educators!
Who Should Attend
Educators who:
Work in formal and informal settings
Work in day or synagogue schools
Create and facilitate family and intergenerational programs
Teach history
Teach writing and research skills
Sunday, July 28th is the date. The program begins with breakfast and a keynote by noted Jewish educator and genealogist Carol Oseran Starin, former Vice-President of the Jewish Federation of Seattle. Participants may select from two workshop time periods, each with a choice from three nationally known presenters, followed by lunch and idea exchanges.
Program Details
Goal
To introduce educators to how Jewish genealogy strengthens students’ Jewish identity through the experience of researching their roots and how their history shaped family and community.
Schedule
8:30–9:00
Registration and light breakfast
9:00–10:00
Keynote speaker: What is Jewish about Jewish Genealogy, Carol Starin
10:15–11:15
Three workshop sessions
Jewish Genealogy for Beginners, Maurice Kices
Designing an “Introduction to Jewish Genealogy” Program: Being Ready for Surprises, Sylvia Abrams
Projects That Draw Youth to Ancestral Roots, Eli Rabinowitz
11:30–12:30
Three workshop sessions
DNA as a Genealogy Tool, Gil Bardige
JewishGen—Everything You Need to Know, Phyllis Kramer
How to Get Kids Involved in Family History, Daniel Horowitz
12:30–1:15
Lunch and “tachlis” how to implement ideas
1:15–2:45
Participation in SHARE Fair and Exhibits
2:45–4:00
Education track participants are invited to the conference keynote address
Title of the Presentation
Projects That Will Draw Our Youth Back To Their Shtetl
Short Title
Visit the shtetl: the virtual way forward!
Type of Session
Presentation
Topic or Category
Jewish History and Culture Methodology and Mechanics Telling Your Family Story Using Technology for Research
Brief Abstract of Your Presentation
Since 2011, and after nine trips to Poland and Lithuania, as well as travel to Belarus, Germany, Russia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Turkey and Israel, I have compiled a sizeable collection of information, stories, photos and contacts. My focus is not only about my own family history, but that of Jewish cultural history, general history, as well as contemporary Jewish life. Working with schools in these countries, I have been able to bring students together online to collaborate and to exchange information about the lands of their heritage.
My presentation takes you on a tour of how you can use this body of work to further your own knowledge on family research, Jewish cultural heritage and Jewish life. This includes a tour of my 86 JewishGen KehilaLink websites, including 55 in Europe, plus over 600 posts and pages on my Tangential Travel and Jewish Life website and associated social media.
Presentation is best suited for
All skills
How will your presentation help your intended audience?
Expand research skills Develop interview skills Teach best practices Expand social media skills Teach innovative strategies Assist with personal research
Second Talk – Tuesday 30 July 2019
Title of the Presentation
WE ARE HERE! Project: Becoming An Upstander Rather Than A Bystander
Short Title
How Jewish Partisans Inspire Our Youth To Stand Up
Type of Session
Presentation
Topic or Category
Genealogy and Jewish History Related to WW2 Jewish History and Culture Methodology and Mechanics Preserving our Jewish Past
Brief Abstract of Your Presentation
WE ARE HERE! Project This project seeks to inspire in young people the confidence and ability to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression. Encourages and inspires Upstanders through the stories of Jewish Partisans and the learning of Zog Nit Keynmol Provides role models for standing up for yourself in the face of prejudice, hatred, violence and evil Shows that an individual can make a difference – regardless of their personal circumstances Translates the stories of Jewish Partisans and the words of Zog Nit Keynmol into a universal message of hope and inspiration for all who are victims of prejudice and oppression Empowers young people to create the change they want to see in their communities and the world. Teaches that while the partisans used weapons – they were fighting the Nazis – you can fight oppression with only your voice and presence
Presentation is best suited for
All skills
How will your presentation help your intended audience?
Teach best practices Expand social media skills Teach innovative strategies
With Heather Blumenthal and Richard Freedman at the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre
In Australia #WeRemember by singing Zog Nit Keynmol, The Partisans’ Song.
Thanks to Phillip Masel for taking these photos at the ceremony in Mellbourne last night, and sharing them with us
Phillip, 96, was a friend of Hirsh Glik, the poet who wrote the poem in 1943.
Please Learn and Teach the Partisans’ Song to your students and children.
You have a choice of 28 languages, or even combinations, and now even in Noongar, Zulu and Xhosa
We can show you an easy and effective way to learn this before Yom Hashoah on 1 / 2 May 2019!
Learn The Partisans’ Song | tangential travel
Learn The Partisans’ Song | tangential travel
A Project For Your School Recite or sing the Partisans’ Song in your home tongue, or in a language you have learnt. Make a video, which can be as creative as you wish or just a simple recording. For the poem, each verse is made up of four lines. For the song, the last two lines in each verse are repeated. The Power Of Words The background and context The ‘Partisans’ Song’ – Zog Nit Kein Mol–written by Hirsch Glik, 22, in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943 is one of the most powerful songs of resistance and defiance ever written. While Hitler boasted that his Reich would endure for a thousand years, it is the Jewish people who resisted the forces of hatred and have endured, not the murderous Third Reich, which lasted twelve years. Today, 75 years on, long after the demise of Hitler’s murderous regime, the partisans’ song is now sung worldwide to mark the Jewish spirit of resistance. (Michael Cohen, Melbourne)
Listen to the Noongar, an Australian Aboriginal language, version.
View some of our videos of the song:
Videos | tangential travel
Videos | tangential travel
Beis Aharon School, Pinsk, Belarus
Videos of the Partisan Poem and Song Project ORT Compilation videos: Herzl Lyceum ORT, Chisinau, Moldova ORT Tallinn, Estonia Solomo Aleichemo ORT, Vilnius, Lithuania Solomo Aleichemo ORT singing the song during my visit in May 2017 ORT Chernivsti, Ukraine Kiev ORT #141, Ukraine ORT Odessa, Ukraine Moscow 1540 ORT, Russia Kazan ORT, Russia Samara ORT, Russia Mexico CIM ORT Herzlia High School, Cape Town, South Africa King David Victory Park, Johannesburg South Africa Sauleketis School, Vilnius Lithuania Dylan Kotkis of Carmel School, Perth The Poem in English The
WE ARE HERE! for Upstanders is a global program that promotes universal human rights and inclusive development. We are headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Using the stories of the Jewish Partisans, WE ARE HERE! seeks to inspire in young people the confidence and ability to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression.
Holocaust educator and specialist Nance Adler of Seattle, Washington will visit Australia in August 2019. Nance will present to teachers, students and community leaders involved in education. We will also run workshops.
Nance’s Partisans’ Project and Lesson Plan have already been translated by our global team into Russian, Lithuanian, German, Polish and Spanish, and are available for free! https://wah.foundation/lesson/lesson-plan/
Professor Lynne Cohen, recently retired vice-chancellor of ECU – Edith Cowan University, has joined our project team. Lynne was also Head of the ECU School of Education in Western Australia
Through our network of global collaborators, there are now 27 language translations of the Partisans’ Song. The Partisans’ Song portal: https://elirab.me/znk
Recently we arranged translations into Aboriginal Noongar, Arabic and Xhosa, and soon in Zulu, Mongolian and Ladino.
The Partisans’ Song will be sung in Noongar in July at Ellenbrook Senior High School, with planned national media coverage of this World Premiere!
William Cooper
There is a strong theme connecting the Jewish Partisans and William Cooper, the Aboriginal leader who attempted to deliver his protest to the Nazi consulate in Melbourne on 6 December 1938, just after Kristallnacht. William’s petition was eventually accepted by Germany in 2017: http://www.jwire.com.au/uncle-boydie/
The Gandel Foundation, Melbourne has recently announced two scholarships in the name of William Cooper.
This powerful nine minute documentary film features Uncle Boydie, grandson of William Cooper, and Moshe Fiszman, a Holocaust survivor. https://youtu.be/1N700Olmw-U
Ties That Bind is now part of the USHMM’s – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s (in Washington) presentation.
We are writing a lesson plan for this documentary. This will be freely available to teachers and students around the world.
Our North Queensland collaborator, Barbara Miller, has written the book: William Cooper – Gentle Warrior
We are also expanding our global online collaboration classes with World ORT and other schools. World ORT is the world’s largest Jewish education and vocational training non-governmental organisation. Several lesson plans will be offered to a global audience.
Recite or sing the Partisans’ Song in your home tongue, or in a language you have learnt. Make a video, which can be as creative as you wish or just a simple recording.
The Power Of Words
The background and context
The ‘Partisans’ Song’ – Zog Nit Keyn Mol – written by Hirsch Glik, 22, in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943, is one of the most powerful songs of resistance and defiance ever written.
Today, 75 years on, long after the demise of Hitler’s murderous regime, the partisans’ song is now sung worldwide to mark the Jewish spirit of resistance.
“Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg…….Never say that you have reached the end of the road……
Mir zaynen do! WE ARE HERE!
“This says that although it looks like the last moments of the life of the Jewish people, it is not, and where the blood was shed, will begin a new, a heroic and a wonderful Jewish life!” https://youtu.be/koA7fpGxRgw
First time translation and performance of the Partisans’ Song, Zog Nit Keynmol in Nyungar or Noongar, the language of a constellation of indigenous people living in the south-west of Western Australia.
Translation by Jesse John FLEAY – Edith Cowan University, Western Australia on 28 November 2018
Jesse John Fleay
The sound clip:
The translation:
I
Ngay ngayiny birnt
Mari warabiny maar wombar worl djidar mumbakiy
Kaya wanju wanju yakai yey
Budja daaginy Noongar yorga
II
Koorl budjara koorbon
Ngay ngayiny
Mirdap ngoop budja
Yakai kwadjet koorl
III
Ngangk djidar mumbakiy
Waam djenak dja-koorl dhabat
Koora koora nyitting
Koora koora nyitting
IV
Dudjarak ngoop
Dudjarakwombar djerta birak budja
Noongar yorga balay koordidjiny wandanginy
Dudjarak koordidjiny
V
Ngay ngayiny birnt
Mari warabiny maar wombar djidar mumbakiy
Kaya wanju wanju yakai yey
Budja daaginy Noongar yorga
Notes by the translator, Jesse John Fleay:
The universal concepts of the song tie in so well to Noongar songs of despair and war. We don’t believe in evil people, we believe in bad spirits that make people do bad things. So I adapted accordingly.
Also, nothing is ‘hidden’ in the Noongar cosmology, so for concealing, I used the smoke from a campfire, as I believed the masking of the smoke from a campfire worked rather poetically. We also don’t really have palms in the same context of a biblical perspective, so I went with desert (sand plain).
The next stage of the plan is for the choir of Ellenbrook Senior High School to learn and perform the Partisans’ Song in Noongar, under the direction of musical director, Stuart Rhine-Davis.
For more information, including all 25 language translations, visit our education portal: LEARN THE PARTISANS’ SONG
With Jewish Studies teacher, Michele Galanti and retired JS teacher Shirley Atlas
On 6 December 2018
William Cooper’s Legacy
William Cooper’s Legacy
What is that? Well, as you may know, Uncle William Cooper (1860- 1941) was an Indigenous activist and leader of his community, who also saw the injustices of the world around him, at a time when his own people were struggling for acceptance and their place in Australian society. When he heard of Kristallnacht in far off Europe, he organised for a delegation of Indigenous men and women to march to the German consulate in Melbourne, and presented them with a letter condemning the Jewish persecution. The Germans refused to accept the letter, but simply presenting it made Cooper a hero, especially in the eyes of the Jewish community.
Alon Trigger is the composer and Ron Jontof-Hutter wrote most of the text. They both studied at the Rubin Academy of Music, Jerusalem, where Maestro Asher Fisch of WASO also studied.
The aim of the project is to educate through art. In this particular piece, the heroic and unique efforts of Aboriginal leader William Cooper are highlighted through the intervention of a most unlikely man, deprived of rights himself, protesting to the the German Consul-General in Melbourne, representing one of the most advanced countries in the world. William Cooper is therefore a role model whose activism was virtually a lone voice during Germany’s break from civilization in the Nazi era.
Ron’s grandfather, Otto Jontof-Hutter, was one of those arrested during the Kristallnacht pogrom and sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp that 9 December 1938.
The story of William Cooper and Jontof-Hutter appeared in various overseas newspapers in 2015 which is the basis of the Cantata.
While the Cantata describes the metaphysical bond between those two men, despite never having met, artistic licence is kept to the minimum. People, events and text are for the large part genuine.
The Cantata is scored for a 45 piece orchestra, 10 voice choir/2 soloists and is about 37 minutes in duration.
A mini promo version of the duet between Cooper and Jontof-Hutter is available.
Kristallnacht Cantata promo Full Version
Kristallnacht Cantata promo Full Version
Kristallnacht Cantata; A Voice of Courage On November 10 the Nazi German Government ordered pogroms throughout Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland. Thousand…
There are 3 sections 1- The chaos and creativity of Weimar/Nazi Germany, leading to 2- Kristallnacht and the bond between Cooper and Jontof-Hutter. They sing a duet describing kindness and decency as human values. The last section is about a better world where tolerance and kindness transcend different cultures as common values for all. The Cantata ends with messages for hope and optimism.
The intention is to perform the Cantata in Melbourne around April 2019. There have also have been expressions of interest to have it performed in Zurich, Germany, Los Angeles and Perth.
Alfred (Uncle Boydie) Turner, Cooper’s grandson, as well as Auntie Daphne Milwark his grandniece are both supportive of this cantata.
Viv Parry – Aboriginal People and the Holocaust Programs
The words of the Partisans’ Song, Zog Nit Keynmol, written by Hirsh Glik in the Vilna ghetto in 1943, again offer us hope when our situation appears to suggest none! Just as in the darkest days of the Holocaust, we call out – Mir Zaynen Do! – We Are Here!
Freydl Mrocki recites the poem – Zog Nit Keynmol – in English. Written by Hirsh Glik in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943. Video source: youtu.be/9gS7c4iNCI0
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!
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Yom Hashoah – Zog Nit Keynmol
We offer hope using video footage from The Partisans’ Song Project. Video source: youtu.be/SvNoyReKxO0
Lunchtime Lecture – The Partisan Song Project: We Are Here
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.
The Meaning And Significance Of The Partisans’ Song
The Meaning And Significance Of The Partisans’ Song
A Video For Teachers MENU: Introduction – SABC TV Why is singing the song so Important? – Phillip Maisel Defiance Trailer – Bielski Jewish Partisans Soviet N…
A Video For Teachers MENU: The Melody – Pokrass Brothers Original Russian Soundtrack Irish Folk Band – The Rathmines Japanese Version – Isao Oiwa Kugelplex K…
Lunchtime Lecture: The Partisan Song Project – WE ARE HERE!
The Sydney Jewish Museum
Wednesday, 10 October 2018 – 1:15pm
Lunchtime Lecture – The Partisan Song Project: We Are Here
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.
