Holocaust Education Week in November 3-9

In support of Holocaust Education, and the anniversary of Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass), and pogroms that occurred throughout Germany in 1938, November 9th-10th, the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee invites and encourages each of us to attend these learning opportunities:

If you would like to attend any of these events with others from the Beth Israel community, please email Ralph, BIC Holocaust Education Chair and we will do our best to coordinate.

Beth Israel Holocaust Education Field Trip to Margaret’s Legacy, Oct 20th

Join the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee for a trip to Margaret’s Legacy, the Holocaust Learning and Jewish Advocacy Centre based at the Hamilton Jewish Federation (which has been very supportive in our Holocaust Education efforts). This field trip will give us a chance to explore further those learning opportunities through a tour and discussion with members there. For more details or to sign up, email Ralph, BIC Holocaust Education Chair.

Holocaust Education Committee Field Trip

May 7th to the Toronto Holocaust Museum to attend a presentation entitled:  “Reflecting Together:  Interfaith Families and the Holocaust”.   The presenter is Rabbi Denise Handlarski a Trent University education professor and long time friend of Beth Israel.  More details about this can be found at this link.   The presentation is from 7PM-9PM.   

For those interested in possibly car pooling and taking some extra time to visit the THM on May 7th, please contact Ralph.

Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah)

On behalf of the Beth Israel Holocaust Education Committee:

Yom HaShoah V’Hagvura (Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day) occurs every year on the Hebrew date of 27 Nisan.  It is observed in Israel as its Holocaust memorial day.  This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps.   The theme this year at Beth Israel is resistance and resilience as expressed through art. 

Please join us on Wednesday, April 23rd from 5 – 8:30 p.m. at Beth Israel Synagogue. 

At 5:00PM the doors open for attendees to peruse a Yad Vashem exhibit entitled “The Anguish of Liberation in Art”.   Other related resource materials will be presented as well.

At 5:30 PM, please join us for a commemorative candle lighting. 

At 6:15 PM, please join us for a screening of Hilary Helstein’s documentary, “As Seen Through These Eyes” (trailer link here) .  It threads together incredible stories of defiance and resistance to Nazi brutality through expressions of art.  A cautionary note that some graphic images are presented.

For more information email Ralph.   Click here to RSVP.

Some Holocaust Education Learning Resources

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’ is available for free as an audiobook:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEKtHbS0YJ4 (the full version);  separated by chapters:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4Q1RYoCEA (Chapter 1; others listed there)

Beth Israel Applies for Holocaust Education Funding

With support from the Beth Israel Board of Directors, Ralph Baehre and the BIC Holocaust Education Committee and grant writer and BIC member Ziysah von Bieberstein have applied for $419,467 in funding over five years from the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program-National Holocaust Remembrance Program to build Beth Israel’s capacity to provide Holocaust and antisemitism education in the Peterborough, Northumberland, and Kawartha Lakes regions. We hope to hear an affirmative response soon. For more information, to make a donation in support or in honour of this work, or to get involved, email the BIC Holocaust Education Committee