Martyrdom & Resistance, March/April 2003

ID Transcript mare2904_01 "CEIV APR Z 8 ZOO. HOFF LIBRARY Vol. 29-No. 4 ISSN 0892-1571 March/April 2003-Adar II/Nisan 5 763 REMEMBER!—I'^i^T"" ■■'' . :'x'.:':::\::-:-.'::'-\"":''!' :■': ■ ^x&x;:*:;:*: Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah 5763-2003: These Are Times for Remembrance BY ELI ZBOROWSKI CHAIRMAN, AMERICAN & INTERNATIONAL SOCIETIES FOR YAD VASHEM Obviously, we do not live in a vacuum. It is impossible to live and breathe without being affected by the fury of war in Iraq. As we finalize our plans for Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah, our full attention is often not on the matter at hand. However, the war abroad and remembrance mission at home are inseparable. Speaking at a church forum before the outbreak of the war, Virginia Congressman Jim Moran commented, ""if it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should."" The links between Muslim thought today and anti-Semitism have been shockingly seen in France, where six million Muslims reside. Anti-Semitic actions have shaken the Jewish community. This has vibrated in the schools, where teachers are reluctant to teach about the Holocaust. ■ ■ ■ ■ ¥■■■1 Book Reviews .. Survivors' Corner Col. Han Ramon Holocaust Memorial Day in Europe Report from Yad Vashem ...... Campus and Classroom ........ Unlocking Vatican Archives .... Cultural News and Reflections .. Israeli Knesset Minister without portfolio Natan Sharansky recently presented a report at the Coordinating Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism. As noted in the Jerusalem Post, ""Perhaps the most disturbing development in 2002 was the generation of an atmosphere of hatred toward both Israel and the Jews as single, vilified, defamed entity responsible for all the evils in the world. The message: the need for vigilance has not ceased. Therefore, in these days, in the season of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah, all of us must ask ourselves: ""What are we doing to sustain the memory of the martyrs. Can we do more?"" And some challenge what we have done. A survivor active in Holocaust education noted sadly, ""I wonder why our children as so lacking in education about the Holocaust."" Yom Hashoah: 27Nisan, April 28 Continued on April 29 The importance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah on 27 Nissan has been stressed so often in these pages that we do not have to restate once more the value of this observance. Suffice to say that the Societies for Yad Vashem and Martyrdom for Resistance urges you in the strongest terms to attend an observance, especially in your community."" At the least — and it is not a small action — and should not be minimized, you should make plans to attend the observance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah on 27 Nisan, Monday evening, April 28, which continues on Tuesday, April 29. Just to specify a few, there will be very meaningful observances in the Greater New York area at Young Israel of Forest Hills, the Hillcrest Jewish Center, the Young .2,3,13 I ■ ■■*■' XJf 5-6 ■ ■■■■■ 8-9 . . 10-11 12 ■ ■ ■ ■ 13 Israel of Hillcrest, the Hillcrest Jewish Center, the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, the Avenue N Jewish Center, the Ramaz School and other schools, colleges, and universities. Wherever you are, there will be an observance nearby. We cannot list or tell you of all observances, especially outside the Greater New York area. Over the years, however, M & R has had frequent contact and communication with these resources, which share an impressive creative commitment to remembrance programs: Holocaust Awareness Institute in Denver, Anne Frank Institute in Philadelphia; Dallas Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies; Holocaust Museum, Houston; El Paso Museum and Study Center; Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Miami; Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education of Central Florida in Maitland; Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois, in Skokie; Holocaust Library and Resource Center in San Francisco; and remembrance centers and Montreal and Toronto, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; and other cities worldwide. "