Yom HaShoah Observances At The Irving Roth Holocaust Resource Center

Temple Judea recently hosted two special and meaningful programs in honor of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The programs were both held in the Irving Roth Holocaust Resource Center, located within the synagogue, and were coordinated by Mrs. Lauren Resnikoff, Director of the Center and Dr. Richard Quinlan, Scholar-inResidence at the Center.

Holocaust educator and international lecturer Adi Rabinowitz, visiting from Israel, spoke to a group of adults about the various ways that Jews resisted during the Holocaust. In addition to speaking about physical resistance, she shared examples of how recording atrocities and carrying on with Jewish traditions were also ways in which Jews countered the Nazis. Ms. Rabinowitz further explained that the date of Yom HaShoah was chosen specifically to acknowledge that Jews did resist during the Holocaust. Yom HaShoah is held annually on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which took place on April 19, 1943. This uprising was the largest uprising by Jews during World War II.

Ms. Rabinowitz lectures about the Holocaust as a third-generation (3G) survivor, whose grandparents suffered at the hands of the Nazis. She has taught at Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. She has developed a way of teaching about the Holocaust called Activist Holocaust Education, through which the messages of the Holocaust are translated to our everyday lives, in order to inspire participants to fight antisemitism and injustices throughout the world. Women of Reform Judaism at Temple Judea were proud to cosponsor this important lecture with the Irving Roth Holocaust Center.

Another 3G survivor, Danielle Bass O’Connell, also led a moving presentation in the Center on Sunday, April 23. Mrs. O’Connell, an artist, spoke about an exhibit she created, entitled Those We Remember, which is currently on display in the Center. Her art is based on the experiences of her grandmother and her grandmother’s two sisters during the Holocaust. She used the stories they told her, in addition to letters they wrote, to inspire intricately detailed art books and drawings. Ms. O’Connell’s exhibit will be on display at Temple Judea throughout the summer.

The Irving Roth Holocaust Center is home to both permanent and rotating art displays and is named in honor of Irving Roth z”l, a Holocaust survivor who lectured all over the world and who was the Director of the Center at Temple Judea for over 20 years. The Center is open to the public and offers lectures, exhibits, and programming on the Holocaust. The mission of the Center is to educate young and old on the evils of prejudice, teach the lessons of the Holocaust, and combat ignorance, hatred, and violence.

For more information about visiting the Center, or for group visits, please contact Lauren Resnikoff, Director at (516) 621-8049.

Temple Judea offers a wide range of interesting, vibrant, and community-based programs year-round, in addition to engaging learning opportunities for children and teenagers. New members are always welcome. Temple Judea is located at 333 Searingtown Road, Manhasset (exit 36N on LIE); 516 621-8049; temple-judea.com.

—Submitted by Irving Roth Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea