Holocaust seminar continued...

            Our next speaker was a lady that works for Yad Vashem. She came to speak to us about the importance of educating ourselves about the holocaust because of the danger and threat of current holocaust deniers. Today, they don’t blatantly deny that the holocaust happened but moreover deny the extremity of the situation and blame Jews for exaggerating the truth in order to gain reparations and sympathy from the world. They call themselves, “Holocaust revisionists” and their goal is to downplay the magnitude of the holocaust and its effects on the Jewish people. These types of people immensely threaten the holocaust memory. As a Jew, I find it extremely important to make sure that the lessons and messages of the holocaust are never forgotten and although I can’t do that on a global level, I can at least make sure that my family and my kids are as knowledgeable and connected to the atrocity as I am.

After the speaker, we went to Yad Vashem, a holocaust memorial museum. Although I’ve been there before and most people on my program have been there four or five times, the museum is so big and complicated and no matter how many times you go, you can always learn more. I decided to go through the art gallery that exhibits survivors’ artwork as a way of expressing their trauma and loss from the Shoa.

After the museum, we each chose two different elective classes about the holocaust that interested us.  My first class was aimed to answer the question, “Is Israel a direct compensation from the holocaust?” Many people who are anti-Israel will argue that although the Jews went through the Holocaust, it’s not right that the Arabs should have to pay for the German’s crimes and that they should move the Jewish homeland to Uganda or Alaska! Of course the holocaust expedited the process of receiving a Jewish homeland in Israel, but our ties and connection to this land go as far back as King David in the ancient times.

        My next class was “Where was the world during the holocaust?” We studied different countries and their knowledge and involvement in the holocaust. There were many instances when America could have stepped in a saved hundreds of thousands of lives. For instance, when America found out about the exact location of Auschwitz, they could have bombed the railroad tracks that led to Auschwitz from Hungry. If they had done so, 100,000 Hungarian Jews would have been saved instead of shoved into gas chambers and murdered. But because Auschwitz wasn’t producing ammunition and supplies for the war, it wasn’t America’s first priority because it wasn’t directly helping their victory efforts. Even before the war, America had chances to save Jewish refugees. 939 rich Jews fled Germany on a boat called the St. Louis that was headed for Cuba. When they finally arrived, Cuba turned them down. Because Miami was pretty close, they headed for America but when they got there, American ships were sent out to make sure that none of them would enter America so instead, the St. Louis returned back to Europe that was quickly occupied by Nazi Germany and most of them were sent to death camps and murdered. We learned about the “bystander” effect and apathy for other peoples’ suffering. And after the class was riled up and angry because none of the world stepped in, our teacher asked the class to summarize what we knew about Darfur and the genocide that was happening just months ago. Out of twenty students, two or three tentatively raised their hands. Out of those three students, not even one had a detailed description about the conflict. The bystander effect is currently in motion all day, every day, our whole lives. If I could take one thing from my holocaust studies, it would be to play an active role in society and NOT ever be a bystander, even if the problem doesn’t hit close to home. Although the problems on the news are complicated and extremely overwhelming, we can never “get used” to other peoples suffering.

holocaust seminar

            To start off our seminar about the holocaust, a wonderful lady named Rena came to speak to us. From five years to nine years old, Rena experienced the unfathomable torture and horrors of a ghetto, labor camp, and then a concentration camp where she lost her parents and all of her siblings. When she first arrived at the camp, her parents dressed her up as a boy so she would have more of a chance of living because if you were a girl under the age of ten, you would probably be sent straight to the gas chambers but if you were a boy, they would see you as useful and keep you as a laborer until you got sick enough to die on your own. For a while, Rena’s sex was kept a secret from the Nazi’s and although the other men in the barracks knew the truth, they helped to harbor and protect her even though it was risking all of their lives, too.

When Rena’s family got transported to the next camp, the Nazi’s yelled to everyone to split into two lines – girls to the right, boys to the left, and they were told that they would be given showers and new clothes. Rena’s dad realized that if Rena, who was thought to be a boy, would be stripped naked, her identity would be fully revealed and she would be killed instantly for deceit. Although dangerous, Rena’s father pushed her into the girls’ line. This was the last time she ever saw her dad again.

 Most of the women in her line were sent straight to the gas chambers, including Rena’s mother. For some miraculous reason, Rena was told to go to the barracks and her life was spared. Because Rena was so young and orphaned, a kind lady prisoner took in upon herself to watch out and take care of Rena. Rena doesn’t remember this lady’s name, what she looked like, or even what happened to her, but she knows that without her, Rena would not have survived. This cycle continued throughout her time during the holocaust- mother after mother, a new woman would bear the responsibility of taking care of her and then suddenly disappear (either they died or were transported to other camps). From what she remembers, Rena had five mothers throughout her childhood. When many survivors describe the holocaust, they say that it was “every man for himself” and everyone’s main focus was their own survival and as the war progressed, Jews were stealing bread from each other and turning their backs on everyone in order to survive. Rena believes the opposite. She knows that without the gracious help of others, there’s no way she would have survived.

David Project

            This morning I had an eight hour seminar with the “David Project” which is an organization for Israel advocacy. We learned the historical, moral and physical problems of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the attempts at different approaches to peace and coexistence between the Arabs and Jews of Israel. I learned the facts of the conflict so that when people blame Israel of being discriminatory or an apartheid state, I can easily refute anti-Israeli accusations. Of course Israel has made many military and moral mistakes (just like every country) but to be criticize Israel of committing war crimes and acts against humanity is very much exaggerated due to the media that is heavily biased and weighted towards the sympathy of the Palestinians just because it looks as though they are the “underdog” in the situation.

            The seminar began with a pro-Palestinian (anti-Israel) speaker. He presented us his side of the story and gave us a presentation of how corrupt and unjust Israel is with the Arab population. Speaking to a group of Zionist, educated Jews obviously created a lot of tension and anger in the crowd but everyone stayed very respectful and politely asked him questions to refute his arguments. His argument was very vague and hypothetical and he used emotional appeal rather than logic and factual evidence to support his allegations. He showed pictures of displaced Palestinian refugees, injured children, military officers searching ambulances at checkpoints and the security wall blocking people out of Israel but he didn’t give the context of the situation and explain why these things are happening in the first place. After his presentation, he left the room and at once, everyone’s frustration came out and people began arguing about what he said and two minutes later, he walks back in. “SURPRISE! I work for the David project!”.  The whole time he was pretending to be on the Palestinian side, when in actuality he works for the Israel advocacy program and was presenting to us so we get an understanding of the general Arab perspective. We then went through every point he made(well, pretended to make) and learned how to debunk the skewed information and biased evidence of his claims.

            After learning in depth about the factual history of the conflict and mistakes made on both sides, a Muslim, Arab-Israeli came to speak to us. He was a journalist for the PLO (Palestinian liberation organization) for seven years and then after going to a University, he decided he wanted to work for a legitimate newspaper instead because the PLO wouldn’t let him publish anything unless it was an article praising the Palestinian government or bashing Israel and the Jews. First hand, he witnessed the corruption of the Arab media and talked to us in depth about the lies and manipulation the higher authorities send out to their civilians in order to brainwash them into hating Israel, the Jews, and all Americans and the Western world. He then worked for the International Media and realized that they too only would publish bad things about Israel because it was more appealing to the public than supporting Israel and talking about the real issues that are going on in the Middle East. To this day, reporters all over the world will choose the stories of Israel acting as the “bully” and the “Goliath” in the situation instead of exposing what they are really doing in pursuit of peace and equality. He now goes around to college campuses all over the United States advocating for Israel. When people call Israel an “apartheid state” and says that Arabs are second class citizens and don’t get any rights, he explains to them that he lives in Israel, works at the Jerusalem post, has kids that go to a Jewish school and he votes and has full rights just like any Jewish person in Israel. This is first hand evidence of the democratic values that Israel holds.

            As soon as he finished his speech, a mass text message was sent out because twenty minutes before, there was a terrorist attack at the central bus station in Jerusalem. From what I know now, twenty people were severely injured. We were all sent back to our apartments and I’m currently on “lockdown” mode on campus and were not allowed to leave until tomorrow morning. The long history of terrorism we had just learned this morning seams so much more relevant and real now that I’m sitting in my apartment reading news about an attack that happened ten minutes away from me.

An Inspiring read:)

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room’s only window

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band – he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.’

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.

‘Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .’

The origin of this letter is unknown, but it positve energy expands when you share this.

Sending you and Unconditional Love Hug
Steve Pohlit

If you give a Yearcourser a grogger...

Me and Craig (my brother)

       Four nights of celebrating Purim has finally come to a close. The first night we had an all year course party with people from all the different sections, then the next night we went to Tel Aviv and literally the streets were filled with people for miles. Every corner had a different DJ or band and thousands of people were drunkenly dancing everywhere in crazy costumes and fireworks were going off the whole night.  The best part of my night was running into Craig! It’s almost impossible to find people in that crowd so I was extremely happy to be able to see him. 

Hannah, Eric, and I.

The next day, there was a street festival in Tel Aviv but me and my roommate, Hannah, went to the beach and slept on the sand for a while before returning to Jerusalem. As soon as we got back we had to shower and get dressed up again for another party. We went to a Megilah reading of the Purim story and every yearcourser in the crowd had a grogger and every time the word “Haman” was said, everyone went ballistic and by the end of the reading, my head was pounding(or maybe it was from the wine last night..) but after this, our madrichim gave us homentoshin and we had a costume contest. Then, all the yearcoursers went out to Ben Yehuda (the hot spot in Jerusalem for Americas at night) but I was too exhausted and decided to be lame and stay in and skype mommy.

Hannah on the beach

Then today we woke up at ten and went to an old age art home and passed out candy. It’s a non-profit organization called Yad LaKashish that takes in needy elderly and disabled and every morning, the elderly spend their time producing professional quality handmade craft items and art that’s sold at the gift shop(I bought a painted journal made out of recycled paper). This is a truly special place that gives these men and woman a sense of purpose and belonging. After spending time here, we walked down Ben Yehuda street which was packed with musicians, little kids with cotton candy and princess dressed on, a long parade, and lots of Hasidic(religious) men drinking vodka and singing Jewish songs. Although I’m sad the holiday has come to a close, I’m thankful I was able to celebrate Purim in the holy land!

            Today I had my first Comparative Religion Class. Instead of sitting in a classroom, we actively tour Jerusalem and learn first hand. Today we learned about Christianity and we started off by going to a beautiful lookout point on Mt. Scopus that looks over the Judean wilderness. Then we traveled to Mt. Olives and went to a Jewish cemetery (as if I haven’t seen enough cemeteries in the last week..) that is believed to be where the messiah will awake from. Then went to Dominus Flavit Church which is where Jesus wept after seeing the terrible sins and problems between people. We then went to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of all Nations, the two most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen! Both two very special places.There were about 20 different Christian tourist groups there from all over the world. Then we went to the Tomb of Mary and to the Tomb of Avshalom (David Warward’s son). This interactive class helps me understand how uniquely holy and complicated this city is.

            Today was also my first day of volunteering at the soup kitchen. It’s a forty minute bus ride and to get there and I have to walk through the busy, chaotic market where the most delicious fruits and vegetables are sold. It’s tough to walk through without buying anything but luckily the man behind the big table full of sweet strawberries always lets me snatch one or two to eat. The Soup Kitchen is aimed towards young kids and the elderly whom are mostly holocaust survivors. It’s sickening to hear about the hundreds of holocaust survivors that are homeless and hungry despite going through terrible atrocities, so It’s very fulfilling working at the kitchen that also provides medical and dental care for them and gives them a grocery bag full of canned food every week.

Poland

            I’ve never been happier to return to Jerusalem. The entire plane began clapping and cheering as everyone looked out the window and saw our beautiful, familiar home. Instead of going over every cemetery, death and concentration camp, ghetto, and grave that I visited during the week of Poland, I’m going to summarize what I learned from the trip. The most powerful thing that stuck with me was the strong Jewish community that survived after this terrible atrocity. My pride for Judaism swelled as I walked through the gas chambers, knowing that Hitlers goal to wipe out the Jewish race failed. We toured six or seven synagogues that were busy and vibrant with Jews before the genocide and in every one, our group came together and sang ‘Am Yisrael Chai,” It was really empowering bringing these synagogues back to life. At one of the grave sites, my group was singing the Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem) and during the middle of the song, I faintly heart another Jewish group up the hill singing the same song. Hearing that warmed my heart because the support and community of the Jewish people is unbelievable, and we all looked over at their group and instantly felt a deep connection. This trip has strengthened my desire to continue the Jewish tradition to the best of my ability, not for religious purposes but for the simple sake of sustaining the beautiful culture, sense of community, and for the respect of all of those who struggled and sacrificed so much in order for the Jewish religion to survive.

            Another thing I took from this week was that even in the midst of horror and hell, kindness still prevailed. I heard many heartwarming, beautiful stories of survivors, righteous gentiles, and also of those who passed away during the war. People risking their lives for others, Jews risking their lives to practice Judaism under the nazi’s noses, inmates caring and helping one another, and the fight to survive in those circumstances, is unbelievable.One story I heard was from a survivor (not directly but 2^nd generation). Two Nazis thought it would be “funny” to push a little girl into the sewage and see how long she could last until drowning. Being only 7 or 8 at the time, they came and pushed her in. She couldn’t swim and started drowning while the Nazis were laughing at this sick, twisted game. A Jewish inmate walked by and saw this and jumped in to save her. This courageous act risked this man’s life in two ways; one, the sickness and disease he could get from jumping in could kill him because of his extremely low immune system, and two, interrupting the Nazi’s “fun” could lead to instant death. He pulled her out and saved her and she survived until the end of the war and now lives in Israel. She doesn’t know what happened to the man who saved her, nor does she even know his name, but the pure goodness and compassion that this man showed reminds me that even though the holocaust was a place of absolute hell and evil, there were many amazing people that went extraordinary measures in order to help others. Although the Nazis tried to completely dehumanize and belittle all of the Jews, they maintained their humanity and pride.  

Beautiful synagogue in Crakow

Hero's grave at Trablinka. If you don't know who this man is.. look him up !

Mass grave of thousands of children

Birkenau. Israeli Pride

Aushwitz

          Although completely exhausted from the long, sleepless night,  our bus went straight to the Cotel (the holy Western Wall) after landing in Israel at five in the morning. Feeling the weight of millions who were murdered during the holocaust, my heart was lifted and rejuvenated when I touched the cotel alongside dozens of spirited Jews. The vibrancy and liveliness of the city brought me to such a deep appreciation of Israel and I've never been so proud of this homeland.

My article made it to the news! http://www.midnighteast.com/mag/?p=12071