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We Are Here: A Celebration of Resilience, Resistance, and Hope

https://wah.foundation

We Are Here: A Celebration of Resilience, Resistance, and Hope

Livestreamed at: www.wearehere.live

This special livestreamed concert event commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and the 77th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, even as it speaks to the challenges of the current moment.

—Featuring: Mayim Bialik, Renée Fleming, Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Joel, Academy Award Winner – Adrien Brody

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Lang Lang, Joyce DiDonato, Lea Salonga, Lauren Ambrose, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo and many others—

Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene

Sing For Hope

In partnership with:

Lang Lang International Music Foundation

Network of 135+ organizations across the globe to livestream event— in 14 countries (Australia, Belarus, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Ukraine, the UK, and the US) and 35 US states. We hope to reach more than 100,000 people worldwide with a message of hope grounded in our history and elevated by powerful music. 

Australia: WE ARE HERE Foundation 

Premieres USA:  Sunday June 14 at 2pm US ET (New York) and goes dark Wed 17th 2pm US ET

Australia: Monday June 15 at 4am – Eastern States (3:30am – Adelaide, 2am – WA,  6am – Auckland)

The video will be online for 72 hours after that, until Thursday 18th in Australia

Livestreamed at: www.wearehere.live

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising—in which 13,000 Jews died fighting Nazi oppression in April and May 1943—was the largest single act of resistance during the Holocaust. The Uprising was the inspiration for “Zog nit keyn mol” (Yiddish: “Never Say”), also known as the “Partisan Song,” which was written in 1943 by Hirsch Glick while he was in the Vilna Ghetto. The song, which exemplifies Jewish resistance to Nazi persecution, provided the initial inspiration for the June 14 concert event, and resonates today with themes of resistance, resilience, and hope.

“We are all inspired by the example set in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Partisan Song, which begins and ends this program, speaks to the fight for social justice and fundamental human rights,” said Bruce Ratner, Chairman of the Board at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. 

 “With this program we hope to make our contribution to the tradition of resilience, resistance, and hope.” said Jack Kliger, President & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, NYC

The partial list of those featured:

Renowned actors, musicians, and civic leaders who will be featured in the event include: EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg; four-time Grammy Award and National Medal of Arts-winner, star soprano Renée Fleming; Grammy Hall of Famer and Tony-winner Billy Joel; world-renowned pianist Lang Lang; the iconic Dr. Ruth Westheimer; Emmy- and Tony-nominated actress Lauren Ambrose; multi-platinum, Tony-winning Broadway star Lea Salonga; multi-Grammy-winning opera star Joyce DiDonato; award-winning actress Mayim Bialik; acclaimed soprano and curator Julia Bullock; conductor and pianist Christian Reif; Broadway actor and Lucille Lortel-winner Steven Skybell; multi-Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard; internationally renowned baritone Lester Lynch; Broadway star Jelani Remy; award-winning comedienne Jackie Hoffman; Broadway veteran and international opera singer Elmore James; beloved klezmer singer Daniel Kahn; 2020 Grammy-winner John Brancy; pianist and NPR From The Top host Peter Dugan; Congregation Rodeph Sholom Cantor Rebecca Garfein; Yiddish singer Sasha Lurje; celebrated Yiddish theater performer Dani Marcus; Yiddish Fiddler star Rachel Zatcoff; Congregation Rodeph Sholom organist J. David Williams; New York City Opera and Yiddish theater performer Glenn Seven Allen; accordionist and composer Patrick Farrell; internationally recognized soprano Jennifer Zetlan; renowned operatic and new music interpreter Blythe Gaissert; pianist and conductor Gerald Steichen; pianist and musical director Thomas Bagwell; National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek; and acclaimed sopranos and Sing for Hope Co-Founders Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora. A special feature of the program will be the world premiere of a new work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano based on a text by Kitty O’Meara, to be performed by Ms. Fleming.

More details:

PRESS RELEASE – We Are Here FINAL – 6-10-2020

Livestreamed at: www.wearehere.live

Eli Rabinowitz

eli@elirab.com

The Partisans’ Song in four languages – Yiddish, Hebrew, Noongar & English

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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

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

For Upstanders – Founded by Eli Rabinowitz

Source: wah.foundation

Melbourne, Australia
The William Cooper Legacy

The Ark Centre Melbourne
Elder Shane & Rabbi Gabi
Barbara Miller & Federal Minister Ken Wyatt
With Viv Parry
Maroopna VIC, Australia 2019
Uncle Boydie, Maroopna VIC
London 2019 – World ORT
With Shoshana, Daniel & Edwin

Johannesburg  – ORT SA
Marcelle & Ariella
The Together Plan 2019
With Debra Brunner & Michael Mail in London
Birzh Lithuania 2019
Benny Rabinowitz
Aldone Shapiro & Emanuelis Zingeris MP at Birzh commemoration
Ambassadors to Lithuania
Kedainiai, Lithuania 2019
Keidaner descendants weekend at cemetery with Laima Ardaviciene 
Kedainiai Students

Israel 2019
Group at Yad Vashem

Belarus 2019

The welcome committee to Novogrudok – Tamara & Olga 
Nance Adler, Aron Bell- the last of the original Bielski with wife Henryka
Jerusalem Forest, Naliboki
IAJGS Conference in Cleveland 2019
With Saul Issroff, Roy Ogus & Henry Blumberg – all ex SA
South Africa

King David Victory Park, 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/

Audience at Perth Modern School

 

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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

 

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The 61st Yahrzeit of Isocher Zeldin

Socher’s passport. He was born in Dvinsk (today Daugavpils)  Latvia
 
 
He passed away in Cape Town on Guy Fawkes Day – 5 November 1958
 
He re-established himself and his family  in Cape Town South Africa
 
On Muizenberg Beach
 Socher’s descendants around the world
 
Socher and Chasa Zeldin
and their six daughters  left Riga for South Africa between 1927 to 1937.
Two sons were left behind. Moisey died in the Holocaust, David survived.
 
zeldin_aunts-3
Socher and Chasa, their 5 married daughters and their husbands.
 
Socher’s other children
Moisey?
David Zeldin
Chana Zeldin

bwfamily

11 of the 15 his Cape Town grandchildren.

Leon Spiller’s Barmitzvah – Socher is not in the photo!
 
With his mate Charlie Slivkin
 
Socher passed away on Guy Fawkes Day – 5 Nov 1958 aged 77.
 
Family reunion in Cape Town in the 80s
 
13329_375835325919_504295919_3815710_4550628_n_original
Socher’s late grandson Mendel and Mendel’s daughter Bella, Mendel’s nieces Alla &  Mira, and Mendel’s great niece Angela.
 
zeldin-family
Socher’s 2 x great grand daughter Lucy’s wedding in NY in 2010
 
Socher’s grand daughter Zara and her late brother Mendel’s NY & Toronto families in 2017
Socher’s grand daughter  Zara, her daughters Mira and Alla and Avram-Yakov in Toronto
In Brooklyn NY with Bella, Lucy, Estee, Jonathan, Alex & my brother Michael – meeting for the first time.
 
 
 
 
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The 60th Yahrzeit of Isocher Zeldin

Socher’s passport. He was born in Dvinsk (today Daugavpils)  Latvia
 
 
He passed away in Cape Town on Guy Fawkes Day – 5 November 1958
 
He re-established himself and his family  in Cape Town South Africa
 
On Muizenberg Beach
 Socher’s descendants around the world
 
Socher and Chasa Zeldin
and their six daughters  left Riga for South Africa between 1927 to 1937.
Two sons were left behind. Moisey died in the Holocaust, David survived.
 
zeldin_aunts-3
Socher and Chasa, their 5 married daughters and their husbands.
 
Socher’s other children
Moisey?
David Zeldin
Chana Zeldin

bwfamily

11 of the 15 his Cape Town grandchildren.

Leon Spiller’s Barmitzvah – Socher is not in the photo!
 
With his mate Charlie Slivkin
 
Socher passed away on Guy Fawkes Day – 5 Nov 1958 aged 77.
 
Family reunion in Cape Town in the 80s
 
13329_375835325919_504295919_3815710_4550628_n_original
Socher’s late grandson Mendel and Mendel’s daughter Bella, Mendel’s nieces Alla &  Mira, and Mendel’s great niece Angela.
 
zeldin-family
Socher’s 2 x great grand daughter Lucy’s wedding in NY in 2010
 
Socher’s grand daughter Zara and her late brother Mendel’s NY & Toronto families in 2017
Socher’s grand daughter  Zara, her daughters Mira and Alla and Avram-Yakov in Toronto
In Brooklyn NY with Bella, Lucy, Estee, Jonathan, Alex & my brother Michael – meeting for the first time.
 
 
 
 
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ZNK – New videos

Here are new videos of students singing Zog Nit Keynmol that reached me in the last ten days.

  1. Melbourne Yom Hashoah Holocaust Commemoration in April:
Resistance

The background and context

The ‘Partisans’ Song’ – Zog Nit Keynmol–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)

Melbourne Yom Hashoah – Zog Nit Keynmol

Melbourne Yom Hashoah – Zog Nit Keynmol

Commemoration April 2018 Using video footage from The Partisans’ Song Project

Source: youtu.be/SvNoyReKxO0

PARTISANS’ SONG

Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho,
s’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney,
mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey,
un vu gefaln iz a shprits fun undzer blut,
shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut!S
s’vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt,
un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt,
nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor –
vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.

Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay,
s’iz nit keyn lidl fun a foygl oyf der fray,
dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent.

To zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
es vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

 

2 & 3

Schools are now recording the song on their travels:

JDS 8th Graders from Seattle WA sang the Partisans’ Song while visiting Yad Vashem and Masada in Israel:

JDS Seattle School Video – Zog Nit Keynmol

Seattle School Video – Zog Nit Keynmol

Yad Vashem May 18

Source: youtu.be/O8ZOBgVrxNs

JDS Seattle School Video – Zog nit KeynMol

JDS 8th Grade at Masada 14 May 2018

Masada, Israel

Source: youtu.be/NZRH7aq-N3I

 

Beis Aharon School and Orphanage 
Zog Nit Keynmol – Pinsk

Zog Nit Keynmol – Pinsk

Beis Aharon School Pinsk, Belarus 13 May 2018

Source: youtu.be/yN3QGZkmGjY

Moshe Fhima Intro

Moshe Fhima Intro

Beis Aharon School Pinsk Belarus 13 May 2018

Source: youtu.be/vi86WhEv3tA

Learn More about how to get involved
An Inspirational School Project

An Inspirational School Project

A Project For Your School We are seeking students who will recite or sing the Partisans’ Song in their home tongue, or in a language they have learnt. Please make a video, which can be as cre…

Source: elirab.me/znk/

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The 59th Yahrzeit of Isocher Zeldin

Socher’s passport. He was born in Dvinsk (today Daugavpils)  Latvia
He re-established himself and his family  in Cape Town South Africa
On Muizenberg Beach 
 Socher’s descendants around the world
 
Socher and Chasa Zeldin
and their six daughters  left Riga for South Africa between 1927 to 1937.
Two sons were left behind. Moisey died in the Holocaust, David survived.
zeldin_aunts-3
Socher and Chasa, their 5 married daughters and their husbands.
Socher’s other children
Moisey?
David Zeldin
Chana Zeldin

bwfamily

11 of the 15 his Cape Town grandchildren.

Leon Spiller’s Barmitzvah – Socher is not in the photo!
With his mate Charlie Slivkin
Socher passed away on Guy Fawkes Day – 5 Nov 1958 aged 77.
Family reunion in Cape Town in the 80s
13329_375835325919_504295919_3815710_4550628_n_original
Socher’s late grandson Mendel and Mendel’s daughter Bella, Mendel’s nieces Alla &  Mira, and Mendel’s great niece Angela.
zeldin-family
Socher’s 2 x great grand daughter Lucy’s wedding in NY in 2010
Socher’s grand daughter Zara and her late brother Mendel’s NY & Toronto families in 2017
Socher’s grand daughter  Zara, her daughters Mira and Alla and Avram-Yakov in Toronto
In Brooklyn NY with Bella, Lucy, Estee, Jonathan, Alex & my brother Michael – meeting for the first time.
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The Power Of Words

The Power of Words by Tali Feinberg

tangential travel

Don’t Give Up Hope!

Read about the next stage of the project.

Learn about the meaning, context and significance of Hirsh Glik’s words in your language.

Source: elirab.me/hope/

Visit the website for additional resources

elirab.me/zog-nit-keynmol/

Zog Nit Keynmol

With thanks to Joel Schechter

The Partisan’s Song: A Lesson Plan

Source: elirab.me/study/

The Partisan’s Song: A Lesson Plan

Teaching The Holocaust Through Poetry Lesson Plan Grades 9-12  Subjects: History, Language/Arts, Media, Social Studies. This website is translatable into 103 languages…..

 

 

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NY in Images 2017

This is my best – meeting people and taking lots of photos of things I see.

Enjoy!

The skyline and the people of LIC

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Long Island City

Long Island City – Wikipedia

Long Island City (LIC) is the westernmost residential and commercial neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. LIC is noted for its rapid and ongoing residential growth and gentrification, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community.[1] LIC has among the highest concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio space of any neighborhood in New York City.[2] It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Hazen Street, 49th Street, and New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek—which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brooklyn—to the south. It originally was the seat of government of the Town of Newtown, and remains the largest neighborhood in Queens. The area is part of Queens Community Board 1, located north of the Queensboro Bridge and Queens Plaza; it is also of Queens Community Board 2 to the south.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_City

Manhattan

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On August 6, I made a presentation on Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref to six of his descendants at Dara Reid’s apartment. This was organised by Wilma Solomon.

With the Solomon family also descendants of Tzoref
The Solomon family, also descendants of Tzoref

Manhattan Scenes

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Buildings

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Synagogues

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Fire destroyed this old synagogue

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Fire Damages New York Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue

Fire Damages New York’s Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue

The abandoned building on the Lower East Side, built in 1850, once housed the city ’s oldest Jewish Orthodox congregation. No injuries were reported in the blaze.

Source: www.nytimes.com/2017/05/14/nyregion/lower-east-side-fire-beth-hamedrash-hagodol-synagogue.html

New York Public Library

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New York Public Library – Wikipedia

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Public_Library

Russ & Daughters

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Russ & Daughters – Wikipedia

Russ & Daughters is an appetizing store[1] opened in 1914. It is located at 179 East Houston Street, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. A family-operated store, it has been at the same location since 1914.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_&_Daughters