It has been my practice each year to share some of the painful stories of the Holocaust: It is forbidden to forget what happened, and I have sought to honor those who lived through the horror by recognizing them. ~~~ But this year is different. I am so alarmed by …
Read More »From Israel: “He Made Me Cry”
It was Vice President Mike Pence, a speaker today at the Fifth World Holocaust Forum gathering – “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism” at Yad Vashem – who brought tears to my eyes. “The world can only marvel at the faith and resilience of the Jewish People,” he said: “Three years …
Read More »Key Discussion Among Jews about Israel: Enno Raschke & Michael Lumish.
I do not know where this conversation will lead. I know that I have considerable respect for Enno Raschke who is a researcher and historian for Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Center, in Jerusalem. I am a PhD in American History from the Pennsylvania State University who also writes on …
Read More »From Israel: “Our Sadness, Our Strength”
Today – Thursday – is Yom Hashoah, or as it is referred to, Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Martyrs and the Heroes. The heroes should never be forgotten. In Israel, the Holocaust is commemorated on a different day on the calendar than elsewhere in the world, and it imparts a …
Read More »International Holocaust Memorial Day 2019.
It is International Holocaust Memorial Day today, and although it is not marked in Israel since we have our own Yom Hashoah after Pesach, this is a fitting time to both talk about the Shoah, to remember the different kinds of heroes who saved so many lives, and also to …
Read More »From Israel: Ani Ode Chai!
Ani Ode Chai! The English translation—I am still alive!—doesn’t quite have the same impact. It is Yom HaShoah here in Israel today: The Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day. Last night, the official ceremony was held at Yad VaShem. Every year I write about this ceremony, and the stories of …
Read More »Hansard: House of Representatives Australia -Private Members’ Business – Israel.
House of Representatives on 26/03/2018 PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BUSINESS – Israel. That this House: (1) notes that 14 May 2018 is the 70th anniversary of the creation of the modern state of Israel, a seminal event that occurred in 1948, and congratulates Israel on an amazing seventy years of democracy, growth …
Read More »News & Views from ‘Arlene in Israel’ – Yom Hashoah
A day of remembering the heroes and the martyrs here in Israel. Heroes, too, because there were those who resisted. As the years go, and more of the survivors are gone, the act of remembering with immediacy becomes more difficult. Yet …
Read More »Rosa’s Story
“I wonder if that Jewish girl Grandma and her parents saved from the Nazis survived the war?” This is a story of the Holocaust, survival, resistance and terror beyond the language and perhaps most importantly about the people who Yad Vashem and the State of Israel term the Righteous Among the …
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