Continue to Remember and to Make a Difference!

 
WE ARE HERE!

A UNIQUE SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM FOR UPSTANDERS

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ – Edmund Burke, philosopher.
 
CONTINUE TO REMEMBER AND TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
 
Today, 10 November, we commemorate Kristallnacht, also called Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms, when German Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland on that date in 1938. 
 
The Perth ceremony will be held at Perth Modern School at 5pm tonight. The keynote address will be delivered by Malcolm McCusker, the former Governor of WA, who will speak on: 
 
“Evil Creeps Back, If Good People Stand Aside”.
 
The final item on the program is the Partisans’ Song, to be sung in four languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Noongar and English, by the joint choirs of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel High School, under the direction of Stuart Rhine-Davis. The song was originally written as a poem by Hirsh Glik in 1943. Jesse John Fleay, a lecturer at ECU translated it into Noongar, and Suzanne Kosowitz re-arranged the music by Dmitri Pokrass to fit the Noongar. Michele Galanti coordinates the Carmel School Choir.
 
The joint Ellenbrook Secondary College – Carmel High School choir first performed this inspiring anthem on 5 August at Ellenbrook Secondary College in front of 2000 people, and then repeated it at Carmel School on 7 August. The original recordings are here: https://wah.foundation/program/
 
The Kristallnacht ceremony this year will be attended by Lance Turner, son of Uncle Boydie Turner and great grandson of William Cooper, the indigenous Australian, whose protest against the pogroms, at the Nazi consulate office in Melbourne, was finally recognised by the German government in 2017, 79 years later!
 
Eli Rabinowitz
Perth, Australia
 
Show your support for our growing band of Upstanders here in Perth WA 
 
 
Thank you –  from the WE ARE HERE! team.

Commemorating Kristallnacht and William Cooper

https://wah.foundation

‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’ – Edmund Burke, philosopher.

Each year on 9/10 November, we commemorate Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass or November Pogroms, when Nazis attacked Jewish persons and property in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland on that date in 1938.

Some 30000 Jewish males were rounded up and taken to concentration camps. As a result of Kristallnacht, the Nazis ordered the Jewish community to pay one billion Reichsmark as compensation for the damage, and introduced many anti-Jewish laws.

Kristallnacht was a turning point or watershed in the Holocaust. It was the first time that violence against Jews was coordinated on such a large scale in Nazi Germany.

This year, the Perth Kristallnacht Commemoration will be held at Perth Modern School. It is being organised by the CCJWA – Council of Christians and Jews of WA. The keynote address will be delivered by Malcolm McCusker AC CVO QC, a former Governor of Western Australia. The title of his address is:  “Evil Creeps Back, If Good People Stand Aside”.

The final item on the program is the Partisans’ Song, to be sung in four languages, Yiddish, Hebrew, Noongar and English, by the joint choirs of Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel School, under the direction of Stuart Rhine-Davis.

The song was originally written as a poem by Hirsh Glik in Vilnius in 1943. Jesse John Fleay, a lecturer at Edith Cowan University, translated the poem in 2018 into Noongar, a Western Australian indigenous language. Perth composer Suzanne Kosowitz skilfully re-arranged the music by Dmitri Pokrass to fit the Noongar words. Michele Galanti coordinated the Carmel School Choir performance.

Hirsh Glik

The Partisans’ Song has been sung since 1943 as the anthem or hymn of the Partisans and since the Holocaust by survivors. Traditionally sung in its original Yiddish, the poem is now available in 28 languages, including Noongar.

Abba Kovner & The Vilna Partisans
Bielski Partisans, Belarus

Carmel School welcomed at Ellenbrook Secondary College

The joint Ellenbrook – Carmel Schools Choir first performed this stirring anthem on 5 August at Ellenbrook Secondary College in front of 2000 people, and then repeated the performance at Carmel School on 7 August. The original recordings can be seen and heard here:  https://wah.foundation/program/

The Kristallnacht ceremony this year will be attended by Lance Turner, son of Uncle Boydie Turner and great grandson of William Cooper, the indigenous Australian leader who marched the 10 km from his home in Footscray to the Nazi consulate office in Melbourne, to protest against the Kristallnacht pogrom. William Cooper’s petition was ignored, and was only recognised by the German government in 2017, 79 years after his march!

The Argus, 7 December 1938
Eli Rabinowitz, Lance Turner, Stuart Rhine-Davis, Nance Adler & Jesse John Fleay
Eli Rabinowitz & Uncle Boydie Turner in Mooroopna VIC
Statue of William Cooper in Shepparton VIC
Plaque in front of the statue
Giant Mural Of William Cooper In Shepparton VIC

The US government funded our WE ARE HERE! Upstanders Project for educators in 2019. This enabled us to bring Seattle based educator, Nance Adler to Australia to headline our project. This was most successful, and opened the door for teachers and students around the globe to use our free resources. More information to follow.

Presentation In Novogrudok, Belarus
Nance Adler, Aron Bell (Bieski), Henryka Bell & Eli Rabinowitz in Novogrudok, Belarus
Maty Belsky & Eli Rabinowitz in Forest Jerusalem, Naliboki, Belarus

Plaque at Yad Vashem

Educators’ Seminar at Yad Vashem In Jerusalem
WE ARE HERE!

A UNIQUE SOCIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM FOR UPSTANDERS

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Source: wah.foundation

WE ARE HERE!  Perth Team     Lisa Marino – US Consulate Perth, Eli Rabinowitz – founder, Jill Rabinowitz, Suzanne Kosowitz – composer, Stuart Rhine-Davis – Music Director Ellenbrook Secondary College, Richard Cohen, Professor Lynne Cohen – retired Vice Chancellor and Head of the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Anne Rhine-Davis, Michele Galanti – Jewish Studies Carmel High School, Shirley Atlas – Educator at the Holocaust Institute WA & Bob Marino

WAH! Reunion

@ The Partisan Cafe, East Perth

IMG_7320 IMG_7328 IMG_7361
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The WE ARE HERE! team 

From left:

Richard, Lynne, Anne, Michele, Shirley, Bob, Lisa, Eli, Jill, Suzanne and Stuart (absent Jesse John).

Come join us at Perth Modern School on 10 November.

Featuring a special performance of the Partisans’ Song in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Noongar by the joint Ellenbrook Secondary College and Carmel High School choir.

 

Choir Performances | WE ARE HERE!

Choir Performances | WE ARE HERE!

At Ellenbrook Secondary College 5 August 2019, and encore performance at Carmel School on 7 August 2019.

Source: wah.foundation/program/

WE ARE HERE! Project Event #1

WE ARE HERE!- Professional learning event for teachers

WE ARE HERE!- Professional learning event for teachers

ECU’s School of Education is proud to host a free professional learning seminar to introduce teachers and educators to a social justice project designed to inspire young people with the confidence and ability to be “upstanders” rather than “bystanders”; to stand up in the face of prejudice and oppression in their communities. The WE ARE HERE! project is sponsored by funding provided by the United States Government. Using the stories of the Partisans in the forests during World War 2, WE ARE HERE! empowers young people to take steps to confront and combat acts of discriminatory prejudice and injustice with their voices and their actions. WE ARE HERE! aims to enable the individual to make a real difference towards the goals of social justice. For more information about WE ARE HERE! please visit the WAH Foundation website. About this seminar The seminar will be facilitated by Nance Adler, a highly experienced educator from the U.S. Nance is a Museum Teachers Fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and a Powell Fellow at the Holocaust Centre for Humanity in Seattle.This professional learning seminar will also feature the short film “Ties That Bind” – a conversation between Aboriginal “upstander” William Cooper’s grandson Uncle Boydie and a Holocaust survivor . Attendees will be provided with a lesson plan and other resources to incorporate WE ARE HERE! into your classroom activities. This is a free professional learning event. Registrations and afternoon tea will begin at 3.30pm and the seminar will commence at 4.00pm – 5.00pm.

Source: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/we-are-here-professional-learning-event-for-teachers-tickets-63414518532?utm_campaign=reminder_attendees_48hour_email

Bielski Reunion in Novogrudok 2019

8 July 2019, Novogrudok

A Day with the Bielskis – Day 1

Arrival in Novogrudok

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at the RC Church where some of us lodged

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the ceremony

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Some short video clips

The Memorial 

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Robert

Lunch

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Arriving for the concert

The Concert

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Some short clips

 

Tamara with Aron Bell

My presentation – almost!

WHERE TO FROM HERE!

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Bielski Partisans

A Human Rights project for Upstanders, funded by the United States Government, starting in Australia in August.

Source: wah.foundation

The Novogrudok KehilaLink

Bielski Reunion in Novogrudok 2019

 

8 July 2019, Novogrudok

A Day with the Bielskis – Day 1

Arrival in Novogrudok

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

at the RC Church where some of us lodged

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

the ceremony

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some short video clips

The Memorial 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Robert

Lunch

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Arriving for the concert

The Concert

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some short clips

 

Tamara with Aron Bell

My presentation – almost!

WHERE TO FROM HERE!

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Bielski Partisans

A Human Rights project for Upstanders, funded by the United States Government, starting in Australia in August.

Source: wah.foundation

The Novogrudok KehilaLink

Bielski Reunion in Novogrudok 2019

 

8 July 2019, Novogrudok

A Day with the Bielskis – Day 1

Arrival in Novogrudok

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

at the RC Church where some of us lodged

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

the ceremony

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some short video clips

The Memorial 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Robert

Lunch

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Arriving for the concert

The Concert

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Some short clips

 

Tamara with Aron Bell

My presentation – almost!

WHERE TO FROM HERE!

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Bielski Partisans

A Human Rights project for Upstanders, funded by the United States Government, starting in Australia in August.

Source: wah.foundation

The Novogrudok KehilaLink

Bielski Reunion in Forest Jerusalem 2019

 

9 July 2019, Naliboki Forest

A Day with the Bielskis

9:00 – All the guests are brought to the village of Naliboki by minivans. 

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11.00  – meeting Alexander Pilinkievich, the chairman of the village council of Naliboki, who takes care of the Bielski camp.

Presentation by Alexander Pilinkievich

Presentation by Alexander Pilinkievich

Alexander, the chairman of the village council of Naliboki, makes a presentation to the Israeli Ambassador to Belarus. 

Source: youtu.be/2GrL4Ju4H7A

A memorial stone to the Jews of Naliboki.

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12.00– 18.00 – at the Bielski camp site in the Naliboki Forest

  • Tour around the camp with Tamara Vershitskaya and Alexander Pilinikievich
  • Introduction to the Naliboki Forest and how to survive in the forest (Ales Biely)
  • Workshop ‘Tell your parents’ story and Your Own Story’ led by Bella Rubin, senior lecturer at Tel Aviv University.

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Violin Performance

Violin Performance

by Sevil Uluchan-Weinstein (Bielski) of Turkey

Source: youtu.be/i5J81aj7_f0

Violin Performance

Violin Performance

by Sevil Uluchan-Weinstein (Bielski) of Turkey

Source: youtu.be/v9E4pJ7FdsM

Asaela Bielski’s Message for the Kaplinskis

Asaela Bielski’s Message for the Kaplinskis

Source: youtu.be/jzl4hlGLKYE

Guidelines to the participants on how to be part of the story telling and discussion by Shachar Rubin of Israel.

Dancing in Naliboki Forest led by Shachar Rubin

Dancing in Naliboki Forest led by Shachar Rubin

Source: youtu.be/QtL0KDtdKtc

Guests tell stories about the partisan life as told by their parents. 

  • Commemoration of the last victims killed in the camp on the day before liberation (July 9, 1944) and buried in the camp.
  • Kaddish by Rabbi Grigory Abramovich from Minsk
  • Lament of Israel performed by Mikhail Dvilyanski
The Partisans’ Song in the Naliboki Forest

The Partisans’ Song in the Naliboki Forest

Introduced by Eli Rabinowitz. Sung in Hebrew

Source: youtu.be/3_b4V9Us_Z8

  • Partisan lunch
Performance at lunch

Performance at lunch

Source: youtu.be/P8Ff-yxMibk

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Le Chaim At Lunch

Le Chaim At Lunch

Source: youtu.be/Fz2FrtyaUHY

Farewell 

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Forest Jerusalem – 2018

Forest Jerusalem

My visit to the Naliboki Forest in Belarus on 16 May 2018, with Tamara, Alexander and Ivan. This is where the Bielskis and many other partisans had their camps in the latter part of WWII. Aptly nam…

Source: elirab.me/forest-jerusalem/

The Naliboki KehilaLink

Home

Source: kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/naliboki/Home.html

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

WE ARE HERE! For Upstanders

Bielski Partisans

A Human Rights project for Upstanders, funded by the US Government.

Source: wah.foundation

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