Dear Friend,

Welcome to the March 2024 newsletter.

With Purim just passed; and Passover soon approaching; we eagerly await the 'journey for a lifetime' of the 2024 March of the Living delegation and cast our minds and thoughts to remembering and honouring our heritage and the centuries old traditions and values that bind us in the hope that the future will be brighter and better for all.

Below are just a few articles related to these times and we welcome you to reflect on the underlying messages therein.

We would like to wish all our Christian readers a Happy Easter and our Muslim readers - Ramadan Mubarak! 

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Taken from a message from Searle Brajtman, Director of the English Language Desk of Yad Vashem:

COMMEMORATING PURIM IN THE SHADOW OF EVIL

"Last Yom Hashoah, I had the privilege of spending time at Yad Vashem with Professor Irwin Cotler and getting to know him a little. He is a remarkable man and a proud Jew, with a lifetime of huge accomplishments, including serving as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. An international human rights lawyer, Cotler has served as counsel to Sakharov, Sharansky, Mandela and others of that ilk.  He is the recipient of 16 honorary doctorates, and through his advocacy work has transformed the lives of many.
 
I subsequently had the good fortune to be invited by him to the inauguration of The Irwin Cotler Institute at Tel Aviv University.  During his speech, he made a statement which I will never forget, and frequently quote: "When one uses the term "genocide", one should do so with trembling".  It is such a profound thought, as not only does it act as a warning against using the term "genocide" lightly, it also makes us as Jews reflect on the actions perpetrated against our people during the Holocaust and try to begin to comprehend the horrendous suffering endured by so many.  (One of the major differences between the Holocaust and other genocides is that the Holocaust was the only genocide intended to be both global and total…)
 
The epidemic of increasing global antisemitism vividly illustrates that the ideologies that led to the Holocaust are unfortunately alive and well, making the lessons from the Holocaust more relevant than ever. Sobering thoughts, so allow me to inject a more positive and inspirational one.  On the morning of October 7, I was in synagogue in Jerusalem, and a rocket alert siren went off as we were singing Hallel, a prayer comprised primarily of Psalms praising the Creator. The congregation proceeded to the stairwell, but continued to sing Hallel.  As we began to descend the stairs, the person leading the prayers sang the following verse: "Israel trust in God, their Champion and Protector is He".  It was a real Eureka moment for me, as it put everything in perspective. Kind of says it all, doesn't it?  
 
Purim, which we are about to celebrate next week, commemorates the miraculous survival of the Jewish people in the face of threats of extermination in ancient Persia (today known as Iran...). The reading of the scroll of Esther, central to the holiday's observance, is a poignant reminder of courage in the face of adversity.
 
Today, as we navigate the growing tide of global antisemitism, the tragic events of October 7th, the ongoing war with Gaza, attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and by the Houthis from Yemen; the lessons of Purim resonate more deeply than ever. Despite the somber realities we face, we can draw inspiration from our forebears who, amidst the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II, attempted to cling to a semblance of normalcy, hope and happiness by celebrating the Jewish holiday under the worst of circumstances."

In this edition (if viewing this on a desktop, click on each heading to skip to that section):

• MOTL2024 Program Update
• Upcoming online event 7 April at 7.00PM  Jewish Pride in a Post-October 7th World with Ben Freeman
• Upcoming online event 21 April, 9:30AM (note special starting time): The Pianist of Willesden Lane– Lisa Jura's Story with Mona Golabek & Rebecca Keel
• Community events

• Articles of Interest

Every year International March of the Living dedicates the Yom HaShoah ceremony at Birkenau to a particular theme and this year will focus on the Nazi campaign to destroy Hungarian Jewry and the mass deportations and killings that took place in 1944. Even though the Nazis knew by this stage that the tide had turned and that their chances of 'winning' the war were diminishing as time went on they continued their steadfast plans to annihilate the Jews regardless!!!

In honour of the 565,000 Hungarian Jews murdered by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators,

424,000 of whom were transported to their death in Auschwitz within just 56 days, International March of the Living will be hosting a Special Hungarian program which will run prior to, in parallel to and in conjunction with the 'traditional' program in Poland.

The Hungarian program will include visits to Jewish heritage sites, monuments and museums, testimonials from Holocaust survivors in Hungary and meetings with the Hungarian Jewish community. Special emphasis will be placed on the bravery of the Hungarian Righteous among the Nations, the pioneer Zionist youth movements and paratroopers from the land of Israel, such as Hannah Szenes, who fought against the Nazis during WWII.

The Hungarian program will culminate with a special March of the Living in Budapest with thousands of people marching to one of the railway stations from which Hungarian Jews were sent to their deaths on 5 May with an Erev Yom HaShoah Remembrance Ceremony at the end of the Budapest march led by Cantor Shimon Farkas, of Sydney, Australia, whose 3 Hungarian grandparents were murdered in the Shoah.

From Budapest, participants (including a small number of participants from Australia) will fly to Poland to participate in the traditional March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau. As an enactment of the deportation trains that plied the same route 80 years prior special train - 'The train of the Living' - will leave Budapest immediately after the Erev Yom HaShoah Ceremony carrying 475 Hungarian High School students and their educators. After 11 hours, the train will arrive at the Oswiecim (Auschwitz) train station. These train riders will do a short march from the Oswiecim train station to Auschwitz 1 on 6th of May where they will participate in a ceremony at the Hungarian barrack in Auschwitz 1 and thereafter, they will join the Annual March of the Living and the Ceremony in Birkenau.

On Yom HaShoah – May 6 - the 36th March of the Living will start at noon involving a 3.2 km march from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The March will include thousands of youth and Holocaust survivors from dozens of countries Jews and non-Jews including a community of Hungarian Israelis. In addition, a group of 22 Hungarian Holocaust survivors coming from Hungary will meet the Hungarian High School students in Auschwitz and March together with them to Birkenau.

The March will conclude with a memorial ceremony at the remains of the crematorium in Birkenau and a pledge to combat antisemitism and all forms of hatred and intolerance.

"I was born in Budapest in 1932. After my father was exiled and murdered, I lived in the Budapest Ghetto with my mother. Every hour and every day is etched in my memory for all eternity, until the day I die. The Red Army liberated us on 18 January 1945, but we were never freed of the harsh memories. My family and others were exiled to Auschwitz, victims of the Final Solution. I am marching in the March of the Living in Auschwitz as a victor for all of my relatives who were burned alive here!", said 92-year-old Gabor Kovac, a Holocaust Survivor from Hungary who will join the 2024 March of the Living.

Trauma and pain have been widespread since the horrific events of October 7th, join this session to discuss how we understand these feelings while also maintaining a strong sense of Jewish Pride and confidence in a time of rising and aggressive Jew-hate. 

Founder of the modern Jewish Pride movement, a leader, thinker, and educator, Ben M. Freeman is the author of the seminal Jewish Pride: Rebuilding a People and its follow up, Reclaiming our Story: The Pursuit of Jewish Pride. He is currently working on the finale of his Jewish Pride trilogy, The Jews: An Indigenous People. Educating, inspiring and empowering, his work focuses on Jewish identity and historical and contemporary Jew-hatred. A Holocaust scholar for over fifteen years, Ben came to prominence during the Corbyn Labour Jew-hate crisis in the UK and quickly became one of his generation's leading Jewish thinkers and voices against Jew-hate. Voted number 8 on the inaugural 25 Young ViZionaries list by the Jerusalem Post and JNF-USA. He is also a Jewish Diplomat for the World Jewish Congress, a Research Fellow for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism Policy and a columnist for The Jerusalem Post. 

March of the Living warmly invites you to a conversation with American concert pianist Mona Golabek, author and star of the internationally acclaimed: The Children of Willesden Lane. 

Mona Golabek is the daughter of Lisa Jura, a child piano prodigy born in Vienna, Austria, who came to England as a refugee in 1938 as part of the Kindertransport rescue operation. As she yearned to be reunited with her family while she lived in a home for refugee children on Willesden Lane, Lisa's music became a beacon of hope. Jura's memoir is of courage, survival, and the power of music to uplift the human spirit. 

Mona Golabek will share her mother's riveting true story of survival. The Pianist of Willesden Lane is infused with hope and invokes the life-affirming power of music. 

This year, the Commemoration is guided by the theme of "We Are Here" the last line of Zog nit keyn mol – the Partisan Song, written by Hirsh Glick.

We Are Here: the memory of those who perished, the legacy of those who survived, and the generations that have followed, who are the custodians of their stories.

The theme for this year's communal Yom Hashoah commemoration is "The Holocaust in Hungary". The commemoration will mark 80 years since the Nazi invasion of Hungary.

A moving segment will honour the lives and experiences of three Hungarian Holocaust survivors in their late nineties: Barbara Grunstein who survived Auschwitz, Gelsenkirchen and Bergen-Belsen; Joseph Symon who survived a labour battalion and fought in the underground resistance; Lilly Wolf who survived a death march and was saved by Raoul Wallenberg.

Jan Anger, son of Swedish diplomat and Righteous Among the Nations Per Anger will speak. Per Anger originated the idea of issuing Swedish documents to protect Hungarian Jews and worked closely with Raoul Wallenberg to save Jews in Budapest from deportation to death camps.

You are invited to attend the commemoration in person on Sunday 5 May at 6:45pm for a 7pm start at an Eastern Suburbs location (details provided one week prior). Free parking and convenient public transport options are available. Registration is essential via the link below.

The annual Memorial Service and Reading of Names will be held on Sunday 5 May at 10:30am at the Martyrs' Memorial, Rookwood Cemetery. Registration is essential via the link below.

The annual Memorial Service and Reading of Names will be held on Sunday 5 May at 10:30am at the Martyrs' Memorial, Rookwood Cemetery. Registration is essential via the link below.

Those of you who accompanied me on March of the Living in 2017/2019/2023 will recall the unique experience of meeting and seeing the incredible work conducted by two very special members of the Jewish community in Warsaw and their amazing productions of original Judaica.

Below is an appeal I received from Alexandra and Helena to assist them in their endeavour to continue operating.

I hereby call on each of you who has shared the experience and appreciates what they have achieved as well as those of you who have as yet have not had the pleasure (click here to view their website), please read the Appeal and the link enclosed and find a way to assist these two incredible friends to preserve a very precious element of Jewish heritage in Poland today.

Cedric

Director – MOTL Australia

Despite extreme conditions we have decided not to end MI POLIN.
We have a rescue plan - a new location adjacent to the Warsaw Ghetto Wall in Warsaw. 
This is our only chance to keep MI POLIN running and to create a gallery for our mezuzah trace collection.

In addition to our own funds, we need an additional $5,000 to make this new step in new location. 
Cover the high costs of moving to Zlota 62 historical site, create a gallery about traces of the mezuzahs, purchase of exhibition displays / prints.

We would like to ask
- Would You support our plan? 
- Will it be possible to spread this information among the members of You community ?

- Every member of the group will receive a 10% off during visit in Poland

It is a very possible that we will meet in our new gallery at Złota 62 soon! 

Much thanks! With your support we will do well! 
Alexander and Helena

In the face of a frightening resurgence of antisemitism, especially in the Australia's Arts Community, it's imperative we encourage Jewish artists to speak up. Let's stand behind our Jewish artists and get together for a laugh at this new black comedy about being Jewish in Australia: Rootless Cosmopolitans.

Join the waitlist at www.monstroustheatre.com.au @monstroustheatre

Here is a selection of recent articles and videos from around the world, many of which we have shared across our social media over the past few weeks:

• 100-year-old evacuee who met Hitler returns home
  
• A synagogue bomb threat is dramatized in an Oscars ad by Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism
• Florence Lieblich on Purim
• Poland marks 80th anniversary of 'Great Escape' from Nazi POW camp
• Before Hamas filmed Oct. 7 attacks, Nazis recorded Holocaust massacres in Ukraine
• Italy marks 80 years since Nazi massacre in Rome with memorial concert

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