Today in Perth started off with morning tea at the State Library of Western Australia with my mining experts, historian Lenore Layman, Richard Hartley (who just completed “Westralian Founders of 20th Century Mining,”) and Peta Chappelle, whose PhD thesis on “Merton’s Reward” explored the involvement of Charles Kaufman (Ken’s Baden-born great great uncle) in the Western Australian mining boom in the 1890s. They brought me the kinds of goodies genealogists love & suggested new avenues of research. Thanks to Michelle Urban from the local JGS for arranging this & providing lunch with the effervescent Eli Rabinowitz followed by a tour of Perth.
Tuesday 2 August – Day 3
Crossing Westminster Bridge
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Meeting Laura Konviser
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Enjoying the London weather!
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The 4th and final day – 3 August
The Imperial War Museum, Lambeth
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Back to the Park Plaza for the end of the conference
In My Pocket Project – Introduces a powerful family story to 9 to 11 year olds
From: Eli Rabinowitz
Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2023 01:38:14 EDT
In My Pocket Project – an autobiographical picture story and related art workshop about the Kindertransport
Introduces a powerful family story to 9 to 11 year olds
Dorrith Sim was born Jewish, went on the Kindertransport in July 1939, and was fostered by non-Jewish people in Scotland.
Her parents were murdered in Auschwitz. She commemorated each year with a yahrzeit candle.
Most importantly, Dorrith wrote a children’s book, age appropriate for 9 to 11 year olds, to tell her true story, explaining how she went from the discrimination as a Jew in Germany to the kindness of people in Scotland. Dorrith’s family story speaks powerfully to all young children today.
Dorrith’s children in Scotland, the Scottish Jewish Archives, Gathering Voices in Glasgow, Points of Arrival at the University of Edinburgh, the Stadmuseum in Hofgeismar, the German Embassy in Canberra and the Hon German Consul in Perth, all have freely provided the resources to the WE ARE HERE! Foundation, to make this project available globally.
Starting this week, the WE ARE HERE! Foundation’s CEO, Eli Rabinowitz, is travelling to Germany, Lithuania, Israel, Scotland and England to further develop these resources. Eli will be presenting at the IAJGS Conference in London at the end of July.
Schools, public libraries and museums are adopting the project, a true life story powerfully introducing the subject of family history to primary school students.
Carmel Primary School in Perth Australia together with the WE ARE HERE! Foundation recently ran the first ever incursion of the project.
The German Embassy in Canberra reports:
Permission to use these photos have been obtained.
The project consists of a book reading, a Q & A session, and an associated art workshop with the students.
Each student gets to take home a free mini pocket book of Dorrith’s true story and their painted artwork.
In addition, the WE ARE HERE! Foundation prints A4 books for school libraries.
The project is also being run in public libraries in Perth and Mandurah as well as the main WA Boola Bardip Museum in Perth.
All five Sydney Jewish Day primary schools are running the project in 2023, as well as non-Jewish schools such as the Montessori School in Perth.
The project has now expanded into South Africa whereHerzlia and Weizmann primary schools in Cape Town will run the project this year – the first collaboration with schools outside Australia!
Keep the kids entertained these school holidays check out our great range of FREE children’s activities available at our libraries.
There’s lots of awesome free activities at your local library.
Designed by the WE ARE HERE! Foundation and supported by the German Embassy in Australia, join a creative and interactive workshop that inspires children to be advocates for human rights.
Participants get to read and watch an uplifting true story and learn about our multicultural communities and diverse backgrounds. This is followed by a creative arts & crafts workshop.
The Foundation aims to teach children about Human Rights, and this inspiring program provides children with the tools for building strengths to deal with our diverse world.
In a world first, the Partisans’ Song will be sung in Yiddish and te reo Māori tomorrow, Thursday, 27 January in the NZ Parliament for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It will be sung by a student of the NZ School of Music, Victoria University, Wellington, accompanied by a pianist.
United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Thursday 27 January 2022
The Holocaust was a turning point in history which prompted the world to say, “never again”. In 2005, the UN designated January 27th – the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945 – as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, an annual call to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and to work through education, documentation, and commemoration to prevent future acts of genocide.
This day we reaffirm our commitment to making “never again” mean just that. We gather in honour and remembrance of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, and all victims of the Nazi regime and its collaborators, persecuted for their ethnicity, political views, disabilities, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. Today, and all days, we stand against antisemitism, discrimination, and apathy.
This year, our nationwide theme of resistance reminds us of the impact the act of even a single individual can have. We remember all forms of resistance – armed and unarmed, Jewish, and non-Jewish – against the Third Reich.
In keeping with the NZ government’s traffic light framework, all Holocaust Centre of New Zealand commemorative events on UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day require My Vaccine Pass for entry.
This applies to indoor and outdoor events in all cities.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Nance Adler, Aron & Henryka Bell (Bielski) & Eli Rabinowitz in Novogrudok, Belarus
Eli Rabinowitz & Asaela, daughter of Asael Bielski, in the Naliboki Forest, Belarus
On 30 October 2020 I posted:
We are pleased to advise that WE ARE HERE! Foundation has just had the Partisans’ Song translated into Māori – our 30th language!
Translated by Hēmi Kelly Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whāoa
Lecturer | Te Ara Poutama, Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development 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!
Online Jewish genealogy resources to be focus of Jewish Genealogical Society talk on 23 May 2021
Online Jewish genealogy resources to be focus of Jewish Genealogical Society talk on 23 May 2021
Eli Rabinowitz, a board member of the IAJGS who lives in Australia and is from South Africa, will speak on “Journeys from Shtetl to Shtetl” for the Sunday, 23 May 2021, virtual meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. His live streaming presentation will begin at a special time: 7:30 pm CST.
8:30 pm ES 5:30 pm WST
Monday 24 May 2021: 10:30 am Sydney, 8:30 am Perth, 3:30 am Israel, 2:30 am South Africa, 1:30 am UK
After you register, you will be sent a link to join the meeting. This webinar will be recorded so that JGSI’s paid members who are unable to view it live will be able to view the recording later.
For more information, see https://jgsi.org or phone 312-666-0100.
In his presentation, Rabinowitz will explain how to trace our past and plot our future, using 88 KehilaLinks, over 800 WordPress blog entries, Facebook posts, and other social media. He will also discuss heritage travels in the actual and virtual worlds.
In his talk, Eli will describe special events including commemorations and reunions of descendants. “An important activity is to visit a local school—either physically or online, to engage with students, especially in towns where a few buildings with Jewish symbols, or cemeteries that often contain illegible matsevot, are the only tangible memories of a once thriving community,” he said.
It is also important that family histories should be documented and shared at the same time as the special events, Eli said.
Examples of such recent ceremonies were the Bielski partisans’ descendants’ reunion in Naliboki and Navahrudak, Belarus; the new memorial for victims of the massacre that took place near Birzai, Lithuania; and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Lost Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania.
Eli Rabinowitzwas born in Cape Town, South Africa, and has lived in Perth, Australia, since 1986. He has researched his family’s genealogy and associated Jewish cultural history for over 30 years. Eli has travelled extensively, writing about Jewish life, travel, and education on his website, Tangential Travel and Jewish Life (http://elirab.me). He writes and manages dozens of JewishGen KehilaLinks and more than 750 WordPress blog posts. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy. Eli has lectured internationally at educational institutions, commemorative events, at IAJGS and other conferences, and online.
He is a board member of the IAJGS—The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, an independent non-profit umbrella organization that coordinates an annual conference of 84 Jewish genealogical societies worldwide.
Eli also advises on Litvak and Polish heritage tours.
He writes and manages 88 KehilaLinks—Jewish websites for JewishGen.org, the world’s largest Jewish genealogical organization, with a database of 500,000 followers. His KehilaLinks include sites in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Germany, Russia, China, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa and Australia.
The Jewish Genealogical Societyof Illinois is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping members collect, preserve, and perpetuate the records and history of their ancestors. JGSI is a resource for the worldwide Jewish community to research their Chicago-area roots. The JGSI motto is “Members Helping Members Since 1981.” The group has more than 300 members and is affiliated with the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.
N E W M U S I C A L T H E A T R E P R O D U C T I O N ,
T H E H O L L O W C A U S E , R E L E A S E S O F F I C I A L S I N G L E :
“ T H E W O R L D B E L O N G S T O M E . ”
The Hollow Cause cast teamed up with The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra to perform “The World Belongs to Me”–the first song release from the upcoming musical, The Hollow Cause. Filmed at The Perth Hebrew Congregation, the clip features the dynamic and powerful voices of Vin Trikeriotis (Jesus Christ Superstar) and Morgan Cowling (Phantom of the Opera USA Tour), singing a love ballad between two headstrong main characters that allow themselves to become gradually more vulnerable as the song progresses.
The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra’s conductor, Sam Parry, became involved when The Hollow Cause musical production creator, Keshet, reached out simply for professional revision. Parry was so impressed with the quality and freshness of the music that he suggested a collaboration between the stage musical and The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra.
When asked about the selection of the largest WA synagogue, The Perth Hebrew Congregation, as the choice for the video clip setting creator Keshet responded;
“Our location was selected for two reasons:
1) Orchestral music tends to be recorded in big halls, and churches are quite a popular choice but recording in Synagogues is not something that is explored much. The Synagogue provided unique acoustics for our song recording. 2) The Hollow Cause is a Jewish tale of surviving during the Holocaust. We felt that recording in a Jewish sacred place, coupled with the fact the stage we performed on was donated by an Auschwitz survivor, created an amazing connection to the music we generated.”
The official clip is being released today, 21 May 2021
The World Belongs to Me – The Hollow Cause Cast feat. The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra
The World Belongs to Me – The Hollow Cause Cast feat. The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra
The cast of The Hollow Cause and The West Coast Philharmonic Orchestra have united to capture “The World Belongs to Me”; performed at the historic Perth Hebr…
Nance Adler is a Jewish educator. She is a Teachers Fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum as well as a Powell Fellow at the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle. She is the educator and curriculum designer for WE ARE HERE! Foundation for Upstanders. Nance has received many accolades and awards and is published both for pedagogy and curriculum development.
She has taught for the past 16 years at the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle where she focuses on inspiring a love of Judaism and using one’s “Jewish lenses” as a way to approach the world to make it better for all Creation.
Katie and Andrew talk with Nance about what it means to be an “upstander”, the importance of telling resistance stories, and even Holocaust movies. Thank you Nance Adler for being our guest on The Well QA!
Online Jewish genealogy resources to be focus of Jewish Genealogical Society talk on 23 May 2021
The Ark, Melbourne
William Cooper’s family, Richmond FC, Melbourne
Ralph Salinger & Michael Leiserowitz in Warsaw
Muizenberg SH, South Africa
