Dear Friend, March of the Living Australia would like to wish you, your family and loved ones a
Chag Same'ach / חג שמח
and a G'Mar Chatima Tova / גמר חתימה טובה May you and your loved ones be inscribed in the Book of Life, and may this coming year be a safe, joyful, happy, fulfilling and prosperous one for you. |
We have yet another jam-packed newsletter this month, which we are excited to share with you below! |
In this edition (if viewing this on a desktop, click on each heading to skip to that section): |
We are humbled and honoured to support and promote this incredibly vital global initiative which was recently launched by International March of the Living. |
The Auschwitz Memorial commemorates 1.3 million people deported to the German Nazi camp: 1.1 million Jews, but also Poles, Roma, Soviet POWs and others. Over 200,000 Jewish children were murdered in gas chambers right after arrival.
Help us preserve and save 8,000 children’s shoes in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Without immediate action, they may quickly disintegrate and disappear from history, together with the important story they tell. |
Phyllis Greenberg Heideman (President, International March of the Living, USA) with a special message from the Auschwitz Conservation Lab |
Official Registration for our 2023 Programs opening very soon!
|
We are thrilled to announce that official registrations for our 2023 Adult and Young Adult programs will be opening very soon - stay tuned!
Please Note: having received an overwhelming response of Expressions of Interest for both programs, we will soon be closing these. As such, if you have not already done so, we warmly invite you to submit your no-obligation Expression of Interest for our 2023 programs without delay by clicking on the button below and completing your details on the form. |
March of the Living Australia's
Annual General Meeting for 2022
Sunday 27 November 2022 |
With our 21st anniversary-year rapidly drawing to a close, and substantial achievements and inroads made, our work and mission as an organisation dedicated to Holocaust education, memorialisation, social justice, Tikkun Olam and the centrality of Israel, is never done. It is only with the committed involvement and dedication of volunteer Committee of Management (Board) members that we have been able to achieve what we have so far. As we look to the future, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead span a broad array of possibilities and initiatives BUT we cannot even begin to do this without you.
We are ACTIVELY seeking Alumni and / or friends of March of the Living - who believe and identify with our cause, values and mission and want to be involved in the next era of leading this amazing organisation - to come forward and nominate as Committee of Management (Board) members. Elections for the 2023 Committee will take place at our AGM (27th of November 2022), so if you are interested and would like to discuss this possibility further, please contact our President, Cedric Geffen at cedric@motl.com.au or 0451-150239, as soon as possible. We need / want / invite you to step up to the challenge. If you believe in the need to continue educating about the Holocaust and about Israel (in the context of a very unique, special and proven program/organisation) and to be able to shape how this is done going forward, then very few organisations can provide you with the rewarding and life affirming opportunity that March of the Living does. We are especially (but not exclusively) looking to the younger cohort (young professionals) to join our ranks. Come and make your mark and help shape the future of this organisation.
|
As well as seeking nominations for positions on our Committee of Management for 2023, we also 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 be able to nominate as potential Committee of Management members and/or attend and/or vote at the upcoming AGM on November 27th, and thereafter continue to have a voice and influence across the organisation.
Please note, the annual membership fee is $18. If you would like to apply to become a member of March of the Living Australia Inc., please 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, by 31st October 2022, 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! |
|
|
How the renovation of a house and a German cellist's obsession led to the reunification of a Jewish family scattered by the Holocaust
- with Friederike Fechner
Online Event - Sunday 23 October
at 7:30pm AEDT
|
We are proud to welcome internationally-renowned cellist Friederike Fechner for the next event in our online series. Friederike will present on her fascinating journey of research which began when she and her husband purchased and renovated a decrepit townhouse in Stralsund on Germany's Baltic coast. Discovering that the house formerly belonged to a Jewish couple, Selma and Julius Blach (who owned a leatherware factory), Friederike began researching the Blach descendants and finally connected family members who had never heard of one another before. For her research she was awarded with the Obermayer Award and the Federal Cross of Merit in 2021.
We warmly invite you to read this article and discover more about this incredible story. |
Presented by the Australian Hellenic Choir and Sydney Jewish Choral Society, join us in Sydney for a moving live performance "The Ballad of Mauthausen", a 4-part song cycle by Greek literary icon Iakovos Kambanellis and world renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis. Kambanellis was imprisoned in Mauthausen concentration camp during WW2 where he fell in love with a Jewish Lithuanian woman. Many years later, he wrote his memoirs and then a series of poems inspired by his love affair. The poems were set to music by Theodorakis, who survived the war as a partisan and resistance fighter. The result of this collaboration is a moving and heart-wrenching musical work, to be performed in Australia for the first time at this concert.
With over 60 singers on stage, a concert pianist and strings accompaniment, this is a not-to-be-missed event. Click on the image above to book your tickets. |
How my Nana's Holocaust survivor story changed my approach to sport and life
- with Jemima Montag
Online Event - Sunday 20 November
at 7:30pm AEDT
|
We are thrilled to welcome Jemima Montag, Jewish Olympian in the sport of racewalking, for our online event in November. Jemima will describe how losing here Nana one month before the Olympic Games and uncovering her Holocaust survival story in the weeks that followed changed her approach to sport and life, and reminds her to fuel everything she does with values-based motivation.
We warmly invite you to read this article and discover more about Jemima's inspiring journey. |
About the speaker: Jemima Montag is a Jewish Olympian in the sport of racewalking. She is a dual Commonwealth Games gold medalist, placed 4th at the recent World Track and Field Championships, and holds the Australian record for the 20km walk. Her mother came from a line of strong Jewish sportswomen, and her father from two holocaust survivors. Interested in a career in public health, Jemima has a bachelor of science from Melbourne University, and is now studying medicine.
|
Would YOU speak up for what is right?
- with Liza Wiemer
Online Event Recording |
On Sunday 18 September, we welcomed author Liza Wiemer who presented on the fascinating backstory to the writing of her novel "The Assignment". In the small US town of Oswego, NY, a teacher had given an antisemitic assignment, requiring students to pretend they were Nazis and advocate for the Final Solution of the Jewish Question. It hit the news and went viral. What transpired afterward led Liza on an incredible journey, helping to make a profound difference to stop antisemitism in schools across the US and also making an impact across the globe. Liza shared behind-the-scenes information, research, and connected the Holocaust to what is transpiring in society today.
This was an illuminating event, and we warmly invite you to click on the image below to view a recording of it. |
Edward Mosberg and granddaughter lighting memorial torch in Auschwitz-Birkenau on Yom Hashoah during the 2016 March of the Living |
All of us here at March of the Living Australia were incredibly saddened to hear of the recent passing of Holocaust survivor, educator and philanthropist Edward Mosberg, Z"L.
Edward was a man who dedicated his life to Holocaust Education and was committed to passing the torch of Holocaust memory to the next generation, through organisations like March of the Living and the USC Shoah Foundation.
"The March of the Living is teaching the children - when we the survivors be gone, they will be here to talk about the Holocaust" - Edward Mosberg, 2017 March of the Living Program.
On behalf of all past participants from March of the Living Australia's delegations - who had the immense privilege to march alongside Edward from Auschwitz to Birkenau; to listen to and witness his emotional and heart-wrenching appeals to 'never forget' whilst also never hating, and continuing to drive home the lessons of the Holocaust - we honour and pay respects to our friend, mentor and role model. May Edward's memory, story and legacy be a blessing to us all.
We warmly invite you to click here to read International March of the Living's statement in honour of Edward. |
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: |
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
We greatly look forward to being in touch again next month! |
|
|
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 |
|
|
|