Martyrdom & Resistance, March/April 2004

ID Transcript mare3004_01 "* (li P 1 9 2004 LIBRARY Vol. 30-NO.4 ISSN 0892-1571 REMEMBER!-! ""1W M 27 Nisan - Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah 5764/2004: A Critical Time for Vigilance, Remembrance An eminent observer and writer of the world scene, George Will was queried about the potential Anti-Semitic fallout of Mel Gibson's Passion. His response was that a much more worrisome problem was the political Anti-Semitism evident across the globe. A review of the world scene corroborates Will's words. As Europe marked the 60th year of the liberation of Auschwitz, on Jan. 27, a stunning Western European poll revealed Anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and resentment of the image of Jews as Holocaust victims. The survey was conducted in Italy, France, Belgium, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The poll showed that nearly 36 percent of the residents of these countries feel Jews should stop playing the victim of the Holocaust; 46 percent feel Jews are 'different' from their neighbors. Anti-Semitic attitudes were linked with anti-Israel sentiment. In England, where Anti-Semitism has not been seen as a major concern, 18 percent harbor Anti-Semitic attitudes; close to 15 percent feel that the scale of the Holocaust has been exaggerated. French Cardinal Roger Etchegary, a personal envoy of the Pope, told an Italian newspaper of the rise of European Anti-Semitism. He called for constant vigilance to avoid setting out on the path to Auschwitz."" In New York, a sharp rise in Anti-Semitic incidents is worrying local Jewish leaders. In November, for example, there were 32 Anti-Semitic attacks more than three times the number for November 2002. Natan Sharansky, Minister for Diaspora and Jerusalem affairs, presented a report on Anti-Semitism in 2003 at a Yad Vashem ceremony making the designation of January 27 as Israel's National Day to Combat Anti-Semitism. Minister Sharansky called for remembrance educational programs to counter the challenges of today. ""When cemeteries and synagogues are being burned and destroyed not somewhere in the dark corners of the world but in the middle of enlightened Europe, it is a problem that belongs to all of us."" Education and Remembrance Are Best Weapon Against Anti-Semitism 1 Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah Message Book Reviews .... 2,16 Review of ""Passion"" .3,15 Holocaust Memorial Day in Europe ... .4,14 Survivors' Corner .................. 5 American Society News .6-7 Fourth Annual Spring Luncheon .. .6 Report from Yad Vashem .8-9 Campus and Classroom .......... 10,13 M'DorL'Dor 11 Instead, our best weapons of combating Anti- Semitism are education and remembrance programs. These are the goals of Yad Vashem and other resources worldwide. The importance of Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah on 27 Nisan has been accentuated so often in the 30 years of M&R that we do not have to restate the value of the observance. Suffice to say that the Societies for Yad Vashem and Martyrdom and Resistance urge you in the strongest terms to attend an observance, especially in your community. This year, Yom Hashoah V'Hagvurah falls on 27 Nisan, Saturday evening, April 17, which continues on Sunday, April 18. Just to name a few, there will be very meaningful observances in the Greater New York area at Young Israel of Forest Hills, the Hillcrest March/April 2004-Adar/Nisan 5764 Jewish Center, the Young Israel of Hillcrest, the Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, the Avenue N Jewish Center, the Ramaz School and other schools, colleges, and universities. Wherever you find yourself, 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, whose commonality is an impressive creative commitment to remembrance programs: Anne Frank Institute in Philadelphia; Holocaust Awareness (Continued on page 6) INAUGURATION OF 21 ST CENTURY CAMPAIGN FOR YAD VASHEM Officers of the American Society for Yad Vashem (I. to r.): David Halpern, National Secretary, Ira Drukier, Vice Chairman and Leonard Wilf, Chairman, 21st Century Campaign (see page 6) "