Category: WE ARE HERE! Foundation

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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:

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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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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

Video Player

Queens Road, Sea Point 

My grandparents, Isocher and Chasal Zeldin’s house. Our drive to Hout Bay.

Hout Bay

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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

 

With Barbara Miller and Ken Wyatt, Federal Minister 2019
With Vince Connelly MP 2020

Kristallnacht Cantata Melbourne – World Premiere 2019

With Benny Rabinowitz in Birzh, Lithuania 2019
With Ambassadors of of China, Israel and Japan in Birzh, Lithuania 2019
Ground Turning at Lost Shtetl Museum, Seduva Lithuania
With Finnish, UK and US Ambassadors in Lithuania 2018
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem 2019
With Ian Stein and Dimitri Coutras at Sea Point School in 2019
At Beyachad meeting in 2019
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#WeRemember

International Holocaust Remembrance Day
27 January 2020
#WeRemember – Eli Rabinowitz & Rabbi Shalom White – CHABAD WA

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/

Maryusya Zarembo, student at ORT de Gunzburg School #550 in St Petersburg, Russia, is in awe of Hirsh Glik’s defiantly optimistic lyrics to Zog Nit Keynmol, the anthem of the Jewish partisans.

“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

Ellenbrook Secondary College & Carmel High School At Ellenbrook Secondary College

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

The Herzlia Vocal Ensemble Highlands House, Cape Town 

Source: youtu.be/GKKZgimSOtE

ORT Kiev #141 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Kiev #141 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Kiev #141 Ukraine Recited in Ukrainian 

The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem #WeRemember

Source: youtu.be/rz3UErZJAJw

ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #3

ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT School #550 St Petersburg, Russia Recited in Russian

Source: youtu.be/VxZL6WpkvZw

ORT St Petersburg #550 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #2

ORT St Petersburg #6 – Zog Nit Keynmol – #2

ORT St Petersburg, Russia Recited in Russian and Hebrew

Source: youtu.be/5mSf5NpIKM4

ORT Moscow #1540 Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Moscow #1540 Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Moscow, Russia Recited in Russian, Hebrew & Yiddish

Source: youtu.be/9SIY-IZJ9Hc

Lauder School Tula – Zog Nit Keynmol

Lauder School Tula – Zog Nit Keynmol

The Partisan Song Lauder School, Tula, Russia

Source: youtu.be/llKaelpDJjE

ORT Kazan #12 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Kazan #12 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Kazan, Tartarstan, Russia Recited in Hebrew, English and Russian.

Source: youtu.be/j-H2duiFNRU

ORT Dnepropetrovsk #144 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Dnepropetrovsk #144 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine Recited in Ukrainian.

Source: youtu.be/xATkR_FWKV0

ORT #94 Odessa – The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

ORT #94 Odessa – The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

Recited in Russian Zog Nit Keynmol – The Partisan Song

Source: youtu.be/9qLqSepTb28

ORT #41 Chernivtsi -The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

ORT #41 Chernivtsi -The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

ORT Chenivtsi, Ukraine. The Partisans’ Song recited in Hebrew

Source: youtu.be/cEj0RusVgUQ

ORT Kishinev #22 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Kishinev #22 – Zog Nit Keynmol

ORT Lyceum Herzl Kishinev. Recited in Moldavian.

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

ORT Moscow Technical School 1311 – The Holocaust Survivors’ Anthem

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

Naomi: We are the Gurevich family from Vilnius, the Jerusalem of Lithuania. Avital: My name is Avital. Here i…

Source: youtu.be/6BlmPWRpsVg

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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

Uncle Boydie

Source: youtu.be/CkiFOAL5fzY

William Cooper Legacy Film by David Jack

William Cooper Legacy 13min 45 sec doco converted

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
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

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Vale Simonas Dovidavicius

Vale Simonas Dovidavicius. 

Standing between Laima Ardaviciene and me in Kėdainiai, Lithuania on 15 June this year. Simon passed away last week and was laid to rest on the 18th December 2019. 

With Rimantas Zirgulis

In Kaunas at Sugihara House on 11 June 2019

Simon was the Executive Director of the Sugihara Foundation in Kaunas.

Long Life to his family, and may his memory be for a blessing.

My video of Simonas from 2015

Sugihara

Sugihara

By Simon Davidovich

Source: youtu.be/VWCW4H47vlQ

A previous post:

Sugihara House Museum

Sugihara House Museum

My second visit to the Museum, but first time meeting with Simon Davidovich, director of the Museum and Jewish tour guide. Also visiting the Museum were Richard Freedman of the Holocaust Centr…

Source: elirab.me/sugihara-house-museum/

My first visit:

Chiune Sugihara And His Legacy

Chiune Sugihara And His Legacy

This post is in honour of Chiune Sugihara. Contents 1. A profile of Sugihara 2. Photos of  my visit to the Sugihara Museum in Kaunas, Lithuania in May this year 3. Nine Forth, Kaunas. May 2012 4. T…

Source: elirab.me/chiune-sugihara-and-his-legacy/

 
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The Value Of Being An Upstander

The Value of Being an Upstander! – Cape Jewish Chronicle

The Value of Being an Upstander! – Cape Jewish Chronicle

By Eli Rabinowitz “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ – Edmund Burke, philosopher. I wrote about the Bielski Partisan Reunion in Belarus in July in last month’s CJC, and what an inspiring event it was. There were numerous other groups that operated in the region …

Source: cjc.org.za/the-value-of-being-an-upstander/

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William Cooper – Empowering Diversity Celebratory Dinner

The Richmond Football Club, Melbourne 

5 December 2019

The Seminar

The dinner

DSCN5661
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Richmond Football Club – Wikipedia

Richmond Football Club – Wikipedia

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Football_Club

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This Week With William Cooper

William Cooper Statue, Shepparton VIC

TIMETABLE

Tuesday, 3 December 2019Thursday,  5 December 1938

Friday, 6 December 2019  Sunday, 8 December 2019

In the Press:

http://www.jwire.com.au/the-kristallnacht-cantata-a-voice-of-courage/

 
This Week With William Cooper
From: Eli Rabinowitz
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:15:59 ESTWe are coming up to the 81st anniversary of William Cooper’s march to the German Consulate in Melbourne, on 5 December 1938.
To commemorate this significant date, there are interesting events being held in Melbourne, Australia.

They can be found on this link:
https://elirab.me/this-week-with-william-cooper/

Thanks 

Eli Rabinowitz

Perth
 
Uncle Boydie in front of mural of his grandfather William Cooper in Shepparton VIC
Plaque in Shepparton VIC
With Abe Schwarz & William Cooper’s family in Preston VIC
 With Viv Parry
WE ARE HERE! Perth Team
Stuart Rhine-Davis, Lance Turner, Jessica Shaw, Suzanne Kosowitz, Eli Rabinowitz, Simon Millman
Perth Kristallnacht Commemoration Team

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Swastikas In Customs House Sydney

Thirty Four years ago when I visited Sydney for the first time, I walked into The Customs House in Circular Quay,  and saw something that has remained unresolved (for me) since 1985!

Please read on!

I visit Sydney several times each year to see my family, as well as for business. However, I don’t ever get to Circular Quay, one of the major tourist areas in the world!

Last Sunday, 24 November 2019, while in the area,  I decided to revisit the building, to satisfy my curiosity! 

AND THEY WERE STILL THERE!

Inside the entrance of the building.

What do you make of it?

I called in at the information desk in the lobby of the building, and I was given this information sheet.

The receptionist  told me that two Jewish tourists recently called in at her desk quite distraught after walking into the building, and seeing these symbols.

I searched the net on the subject.  This what Wikipedia has to say about these symbols – quite detailed and informative:

Swastika – Wikipedia

Swastika – Wikipedia

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

As part of this Wiki article above, you can read:

Post–World War II stigmatization

Because of its use by Nazi Germany, the swastika since the 1930s has been largely associated with Nazism. In the aftermath of World War II it has been considered a symbol of hate in the West,[160] or alternatively of white supremacy in many Western countries.[161]

As a result, all of its use, or its use as a Nazi or hate symbol, is prohibited in some countries, including Germany. Because of the stigma attached to the symbol, many buildings that have used the symbol as decoration have had the symbol removed.[citation needed] In some countries, such as the United States’ Virginia v. Black 2003 case, the highest courts have ruled that the local governments can prohibit the use of swastika along with other symbols such as cross burning, if the intent of the use is to intimidate others.[5]

 

No-Nazism sign

—————-

I decided to write to the Australian Jewish News, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, and  J-Wire (online  zine)

These were the replies:

Vic Alhadeff – NSW Jewish Board:

As the leaflet says, it’s there as Buddhist/Hindu culture. Nothing to be done.

Henry Benjamin – J-Wire:

You would have a problem visiting Bali. The swastika is part of the island’s culture.

The AJN did not respond!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND?

Should a public building in Sydney, Australia have these images displayed in its entrance, and with no visible explanation given – only when I asked at reception!

These may be positive symbols in Asia, but what about in a country that has a large population of Holocaust survivors and their descendants.

What do you have to say on the matter?

 

UPDATE

I called the front desk at Customs House this morning, and spoke to Veronica, who told me that there is a plaque in the foyer. Neither Jill nor I saw it!

Veronica kindly took a couple of photos for me and also pointed me to an item on their website – see below

My updated notes arising from this last image:

The plaque states that during WWII the floor was covered – interesting!

Both right and left facing swastikas are on the Customs House floor (not just counter clockwise as per the plaque above).

 
 
My photo of the floor
 

Thanks and best regards

Eli Rabinowitz

Perth, Australia

 

The Customs House

Source: www.sydneycustomshouse.com.au

The pamphlet

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