To bring the Germans to
a level of deep hate for the Jews, which led to systematic, bestial murder of
Jews, the Nazis brainwashed the German nation, convincing them that the Jews are
vermin, nobodies, worthwhile killing so the world is emptied of them and thus
cleaner.
On the Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, website
(http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/index.asp) it is stated:
“…Yad Vashem
safeguards the memory of the past and imparts its meaning for future
generations…For over half a century, Yad Vashem has been committed to four
pillars of remembrance: Commemoration, Documentation, Research and Education.”
As much as the
past is a guide to the future, I see it vital that the future is safeguarded to
prevent another Holocaust from happening.
This was the
underpinning of this year’s American Society for Yad Va’shem, Leonard Wilf
Chairman, ) http://yadvashemusa.org/(,
in cooperation with Phil Blazer
and Jewish Life Foundation/Jewish Life TV (JLTV)
(http://www.jewishlifefoundation.org/wordpress/), Saluting Hollywood
Benefit Gala, held at the Four Seasons Hotel, in Beverly Hills and emceed by super model
Bar Refaeli. Among the many distinguished guests Hollywood noticeable were actor
Jon Voight and singer Pat Boone.
Holocaust Survivors light the 6 memorial candles-Photo by Michelle Mivzar
The line of honorees
was extensive. Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Haim and Cheryl Saban and Jona
Goldrich received the Leadership Award; actor Kirk Douglas received the
Lifetime Achievement Award; Edward Czuker, Kenneth Pressberg and Patricia
Herskovic received the Legacy Award. Mira Becker and Aron Bell (Bielski)
received the Courage Award. Harry Ettlinger – the real-life Jewish 'Monuments
Man' - received the Remembrance Award, honoring the film “The Monuments Men”
starring George Clooney, Matt Damon and John Goodman and actor Liev Schreiber received the
Ambassador Award for his role in the film “Defiance”, the story of the Bielski
Partisans who saved 1,200 Jews from being murdered in the Holocaust.
Emcee super model Bar Refaeli and Avi Lerner of Millennium Films that produced the film Grey Zone-Photo by Michelle Mivzari
My issue is the Jewish people’s future. To remember
the past and prevent it from reoccurring.
Many young people attended the event. I asked some of
them, USC students, age 22, “why are you involved?” They replied in unison:
“because it has deep meaning.” They mentioned having grandparents who survived
the Holocaust. They all visited Yad Va’shem and were deeply touched by what
they saw and are “great supporters of the museum,” they told me.
Not remembering those who perished in the Holocaust is
like killing them again. That is what they do at Yad Va’shem. At present they
have already 4 million names memorized and documented for eternity.
There are galas and
there are galas, but there is no gala like the American Socierty for Yad
Va’shem gala and it is a mitzvah to attend the event. It is sad, it is shooting
right into one’s heart, especially when there are still survivors among us who
tell the story as if it happened yesterday. Time is marching on and who will
hold their memory alive?
It is now the 1st and 2nd and
even the 3rd generation’s responsibility to never stop telling the
story of the Holocaust; it is vital that we tell the truth and never stop
telling.
The concern is how
to tell the Holocaust story to the next generation. I say, start by saying, “I
am a Jew, I am a human being”.
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