Dear Friend,

Welcome to the June 2023 newsletter.

Muhammad Ali once said: "It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe."  Our discussion at the first reunion of our 2023 MOTL Program cohort centred around this quote – 'What's the pebble in your shoe?'

The March of the Living experience is undoubtedly an experience that somehow manages to leave a pebble in every participant's shoe and as part of our feedback and ongoing journey we endeavoured to explore this further.

We hope this may invoke the desire to explore within yourselves further too.

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

Muhammad Ali said: "It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." 

Our 2023 MOTL Program family held their first reunion this month, where, in addition to having the opportunity to rejoice and reminisce in each other's company again and share some precious moments of togetherness, we also utilised the opportunity to reflect on our shared experience. Dean Levitan, the leader of the Young Adult cohort led us in a discussion about the importance of keeping a pebble in one's shoe to provide each participant a slight sense of discomfort, as a constant reminder of some of the injustices and wrongs in the world now that we are back in the 'daily grind'. 

It was fascinating to hear how the members in the group were impacted by their experience. Time and time again we heard from the group how grateful they are for things they would previously have taken for granted, like family, friends, opportunities and connections.  The importance of pausing and reflecting. 

Some also reflected on the importance of not being a bystander, on having an opinion and standing up to one's convictions. We were reminded of a comment by our guide, Julian Resnick – "It is worse to be agnostic than to be an atheist".

If you are interested in  joining the program in 2024 - we are already accepting Expressions of Interest for our 2024 programs  so click on the button below if you would like to be added to our mailing list and to receive details about our 2024 program.

MOTL together with the ZDVO warmly welcome you to our next online event with Yoseph Haddad, a Christian Arab Israeli who voluntarily served in the IDF and is an active member of Beit Halochem.

A fierce defender of Israel, Yoseph once said, "For the first time in my life I learned about the Arab-Israel conflict in the army. In the Arab school system, I didn't learn the Israeli national anthem or about the wars of 1948, 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in 1973". He also learned about the Holocaust: "When I visited Yad Vashem, Israel's official Holocaust memorial, it was the first time I understood the horrific tragedy that had taken place".

During the 2006 Lebanon War, a month before his service was to end, Yoseph was sent to the Lebanon border. A rocket fired from Hezbollah hit close to where Yoseph was standing and Yoseph lost his foot as a result. After several operations, it was reattached and a year later, Yoseph's dream of playing soccer was realised. The experience left Yoseph with the deep desire to do more for and became increasingly involved with advocacy. Yoseph is a proud member of Beit Halochem where he receives various treatments and therapies. He travels all over the world speaking out against the BDS movement and standing up for the State of Israel in front of large gatherings and on university campuses.

March of the Living Australia together with J"accuse Oz are pleased to invite you to the screening of the world acclaimed documentary J'Accuse! a film by Michael Kretzmer, which focuses on Jonas Noreika, unearthing Holocaust denial and exposing official cover-up by the Lithuanian government which resulted in an internationally-followed lawsuit. These special screenings will be followed by a panel discussion with director Michael Kretzmer, Grant Gochin an American philanthropist, journalist, politician, and activist and Silvia Foti, Noreika's granddaughter, author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee whose goal is to upend Lithuania's narrative that Lithuanians had nothing to do with killing Jews, that it was all done by German Nazis. 

Jonas Noreika, a Nazi collaborator, signed orders that led to the massacre of approximately 14,500 Lithuanian Jews in conditions of unimaginable cruelty and despite compelling evidence of his atrocities, this murderer is hailed as an heroic patriot in Lithuania to this day. J'Accuse! has become a powerful tool in the world to inform genocidal murderers that they will be held to account. J'Accuse! has put into effect the words "Never Again". 

Bulawayo born Kretzmer left for England in 1976 and became a journalist and film-maker, writing for the London Sunday Times and producing many documentary films for the BBC, Channel 4 and other international broadcasters. He built a small media company which he sold in 2010 allowing him to retire. His first trip to Lithuania in 2019 had a profound impact on him and led to him making this film. He now lives on a tiny farm in the English countryside where he grows vegetables and entertains recalcitrant chickens.  He is a father and grandfather and likes motorbikes, travel and a bit of Torah study. 

Gochin was forced to leave South Africa after being detained for his anti-Apartheid activities. Now living in California, Gochin works as CEO/Wealth Advisor and Certified Financial Planner. Gochin has investigated and worked to prosecute more than a dozen Lithuanian leaders who participated in or were complicit in Lithuanian Holocaust activities, seeking to strip them of state honours. After applying for Lithuanian citizenship and being denied because of his Jewish ancestry, Gochin pursued multiple lawsuits to prove he was eligible. He wrote "Malice, Murder and Manipulation" documenting the persecution of his Litvak family.

Foti, author of the memoir "Storm in the Land of Rain: A Mother's Dying Wish Becomes Her Daughter's Nightmare" is an award-winning investigative journalist in Chicago and a high school literature teacher. She holds Master's degrees in journalism, education, and creative non-fiction. Foti made a deathbed promise to her mother to write a book about her famous, WWII hero grandfather. Silvia's grandmother begged her not to write about her husband: "Just let history lie", she whispered. Silvia had no idea that in keeping her promise to her mother, her discoveries would bring her to a personal crisis, challenge her Catholic faith, unearth Holocaust denial, and expose an official cover-up by the Lithuanian government.

March of the Living Australia hosted an online event with Rabbi Yona Daniel Simons.

Rabbi Simons was born in Sydney to a father whose family moved to Australia in the early-mid 1800s, and a mother descended from Holocaust survivors, who arrived in Sydney from Romania in 1960.

After 10 years of IT work, Yona went back to Yeshiva in Israel in 2006 to obtain Rabbinical Ordination, before going to work in a community education position in Warsaw, Poland, 2009-2012.

Since then he has returned to live in Israel with his wife and 3 children in Modiin, and works professionally as a programmer, but continues to speak as an educator on classical Jewish texts and topics, as well as regularly discussing Jewish life in Poland and Europe, before and after the war.

An introduction to Holocaust storytelling for novices and experienced storytellers alike.

Telling someone else's Holocaust story creates an intimate connection to that person's experience during the Holocaust. This session will guide you in the sacred task of sharing the story of someone who experienced the Holocaust.

You will hear a story of the Holocaust, appreciate the story and notice what happens inside yourself as you listen, and have the chance to explore storytelling and appreciation yourself, using a prompt that we will provide.

Featuring guest storyteller Lynne Feldman telling the story of survivor Yehudit Aufrichtig and her Holocaust Cookbook.

Facilitated by Teach the Shoah's storytelling director, Jennifer Rudick Zunikoff.

Poignant moments at the Kotel, summers spent meandering the Tel Aviv shoreline, and the lingering taste of the best hummus. EVER. We all have our reflections on time spent in Israel – and The Australian Jewish News wants to hear yours!

In celebration of Israel's 75th birthday, each week the AJN has been running a special column entitled, 'My Israel Story', where Australians pause to reflect on their treasured memories and relationship with the Holy Land.

The AJN are accepting submissions for editorial consideration!

How to participate:

In 500 – 650 words, share your personal memories of Israel. This could be from one particular trip, or from several. What were the moments that moved you? Challenged you? Inspired you? Made you laugh… or cry? Describe your relationship to Israel, and how it may have evolved over years.

Include 5-10 high-resolution images from the trip/s (several of which depict you), and relevant accompanying captions.

Submit your essay to me – rdavis@jewishnews.net.au – with 'MY ISRAEL STORY SUBMISSIONS' in the subject header; and please, feel free to share this invitation amongst your family, friends, colleagues and networks too!

Terms & Conditions: By participating in The Australian Jewish News' My Israel Story, you grant The AJN full rights to publish your name and images for the article both in print and digital formats. 

We look forward to sharing your Israel Story.

Are you a 2nd or 3rd generation holocaust survivor, who also has your own mental health experience to share? We're exploring the link between the holocaust and our current experiences of mental health, as a community, at Brave Talks. Brave Talks is an event that invites 3 community members to share their mental health story from the stage, with the aim of reducing stigma and making it easier for us to reach out for help. Our last two events have sold out; we're determined to keep bringing honest, vulnerable stories out of the shadows, so you feel less alone in whatever you're experiencing. If you would like to know about sharing your story at Brave Talks, please email t.rabinovitz@jewishcare.com.au

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:

• We Survived - 35 years of the March of the Living
• Powerful song with the heartbreaking Holocaust story of saving children 
• Shema Yisroel by Yaakov Shwekey
• Holocaust memorial project marks milestone with 100,000 'stumbling blocks'
• Haredi filmmakers bring Israelis to Auschwitz in virtual reality tour

We greatly encourage all friends and supporters of March of the Living to play an active role in improving and influencing March of the Living Australia, its work, outreach, engagement and programs by becoming a paid MEMBER of the Association for 2023. In doing so, you will have a voice and influence across the organisation. 

The annual membership fee is $18.  If you would like to apply to become a member of March of the Living Australia Inc,  click on this link to download the application form.

Please fill in your details on the form and get two (2) current Members of March of the Living Australia Inc. to support your membership application.  If you do not know any other association Members, please email your completed Membership Form (without endorsement) to the Secretary - Shirley Atlas - at shirley@motl.com.au, and she will be in touch thereafter with regard to endorsement.  Please note that Membership is not automatic and that all applications for membership need to be approved by the Committee of Management.

We greatly look forward to hearing from you, and to hopefully having you join us as a Member of the Association in 2023!

As always, we warmly invite you to follow us on social media by clicking

on the various Socials bubbles below, so you may keep updated

with all our daily posts and news. 
We also kindly invite you to share this Newsletter

and encourage members of your networks

who may be interested in receiving it to subscribe

via the bottom of the Homepage on our website - www.motl.com.au

Copyright © March of the Living Australia, All Rights Reserved.

You are receiving this email because you are part of the March of the Living Australia community.

Our mailing address is:

PO Box 268
Elsternwick
Melbourne 3185 

Want to change how you receive these emails?

Click here to unsubscribe

sent by vega.works