Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Remembrance Day
 
Program Guide: April 27, 2014 (Nissan 27, 5774) 
 
Collage by Avital Rotbart 

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Never Forget - Action Steps
 
Attend:      

Survivors Memorial - From Generation to Generation

 

There's a lot to look forward to in this week's newsletter, including:
  • Audio: Jewish Musical Comedy in the Terezin Concentration Camp
  • Article: Saying Thank You To U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn
  • LinksDid You Spot These News & Feature Items?
  • Photo: Arab-Israeli Captains Petah Tikvah Soccer Team
  • Article: Denver's Forgotten Holocaust Survivors
  • Flashback: Voyage of the Damned
  • Facebook: Youth account for 3rd and 4th Gen Holocaust Survivors
  • Flashback: Interview with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Andy Hollinger (communications director)
  • Today: Holocaust Memorial Event
 
 
 
 
 Talya Rotbart, our news and features editor, is on Twitter! Follow her @IMAZionist!Terezin

Yom HaShoah Special Edition:
 
A Jewish Musical Comedy 
In The Terezin Concentration Camp

(l) Jewish children watching a play in Terezin in the 1940s
(r) Minneapolis actors recreating the 1943 play in Terezin
In 1943 at the Terezin Concentration Camp in what is now the Czech Republic, a group of Jewish inmates calling themselves the Second Czech Cabaret wrote a musical comedy titled "Laugh With Us" - making fun of their Nazi captors - and performed it in the attic of one of the buildings at the Terezin complex.

[It wasn't the first or last time that a cabaret was written by the Jewish prisoners for the Jewish prisoners at Terezin, which is more commonly known by its German name, Theresiensdadt. Yet, bizarrely, the Nazi guards never interrupted the performances.]

The script of this one cabaret miraculously survived the war in a desk drawer and - in a series of unlikely coincidences - ended up getting translated into English and performed in Terezin in 2011 by a theater group from Minnesota.

When movie director and film teacher Richard Krevolin learned that this script would be performed in the same room at Terezin where it was originally produced (with Terezin survivors in attendance), he decided to share its story.

The ensuing documentary - Making Light in Terezin - is being released this month. 

Click here to listen to Mr. Krevolin's recent exclusive interview with Radio Chavura about the incredible story of the Terezin cabaret.

Purchase a DVD of the documentary here. Purchase the companion book here.Lamborn

How To Say Thank You - 
To
U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05)
 

Based in Colorado Springs, he is the most pro-Israel member of Colorado's congressional delegation. And he's running for re-election in November.

U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn, who has proven himself to be a true friend to the State of Israel and to the Jewish people, will be attending a Denver fundraiser next month hosted by former U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong (R-CO), former Colorado Governor Bill Gates, Dr. Tash Bernton, Norm Brownstein, Rich Harris, Larry Mizel, Tom Kornfeld, Dick Robinson, Rich SokolBrian Watson, and other well-known community members (the complete list of hosts is still being finalized).

The fundraiser, which will also headline U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (who is the highest ranking elected Jew in American history), will be held Friday, May 16th at 8:00 am at the Brown Palace Hotel's The Club (321 Seventeenth Street, 80202).

Congressman Lamborn, who is co-chair of the bipartisan Israel Allies Caucus and the Republican Israel Caucus, was named a Pillar of the Colorado Jewish Community in June 2013 by Radio Chavura. Last month, Radio Chavura's IsraelScore™ Index definitively ranked him at the top of Colorado's congressional delegation for his voting record in the 113th Congress.

The following is a list of the pro-Israel legislation supported by Congressman Lamborn in the current congress (as of March 24, 2014):
  • H.R. 104 (co-sponsored) - Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2013
  • H.R.300 (co-sponsored) - Visa Waiver for Israel Act of 2013
  • H.R. 850 (co-sponsored) - Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013
  • H.R.938 (co-sponsored) - United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014
  • H.R.98 (co-sponsored) - Expressing support for Israel and its right to self-defense against the illegal nuclear program by the Islamic Republic of Iran. 
  • H.R. 1130 (co-sponsored) - Iron Dome Support Act 
  • H.Res.177 (co-sponsored) - Urging the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas to clarify a presidential succession plan, expand political freedom in the West Bank, and take preventative measures to limit the possibility of a Hamas takeover in the West Bank.
  • H.R.1992 (co-sponsored) - Israel QME Enhancement Act
  • H.R.2717 (co-sponsored) - United States-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation Act of 2013
  • H.R.2846 (co-sponsored) - Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel Act 
  • H.R.3292 (co-sponsored) - United States-Iran Nuclear Negotiations Act
  • H.R.3629 (co-sponsored) - Israel Sovereignty and Security Recognition Act
  • H.Res.431 (co-sponsored) - Calling on the United States Senate to increase sanctions against Iran
Show your support for Congressman Lamborn by keeping him in office and donating to his campaign (the brunch is $250 to attend). RSVP to Monica Owens at 720-319-4936,


Today marks 10,384 days since Jonathan Pollard (www.jonathanpollard.org) was imprisoned in the United States. Read Maxwell Rotbart's column, Separating fact from fiction about Jonathan Pollard, on Examiner.com.

Today marks 1,607 days since Alan Gross (www.bringalanhome.org) was imprisoned in Cuba.News

 _______________________ 
 

 

DID YOU SPOT THESE NEWS and FEATURE ITEMS? 
Talya Rotbart

Edited by 
Talya Rotbart 

   

Thanks to the following individuals whose keen eyes helped us identify articles of interest in recent editions: Richard Behar, Dr. Herzl MelmedDr. Donald Salem, Lela Kay, Rabbi Daniel AlterCheryl and David Fellows, Tamari Gruszow, and Shirley Lewis. If you spot a news feature that is worth including in a future edition of this newsletter, please email the URL to Talya at [email protected].

interview with Candy Crowley (April 27, 2014)
 
[Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eloquently explains to CNN why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cannot possibly recognize the horrors of the Holocaust if he is forming a unified government with the Hamas terrorist organization at the same time.]
 
Click on the image above to view interview with Prime Minister Netanyahu
 


Here it is worth noting that under the Geneva Conventions, every single rocket launch from Gaza into Israeli territory is a separate war crime.

 

Abbas was only able to sign the Geneva Conventions on the one hand, and the unity deal with terrorist war criminals on the other, because he is utterly convinced that neither the US nor the European Union will hold him accountable for his actions. He is completely certain that neither the Americans nor the Europeans are serious about their professed commitments to upholding international law.

 

Abbas is sure that for both the Obama administration and the EU, maintaining support for the PLO far outweighs any concern they have for abiding by the law of nations. He believes this because he has watched them make excuses for the PLO and its leaders for the past two decades.

 

When it comes to the Palestinians, the Western powers are always perfectly willing to throw out their allegiance to law - international law and their domestic statutes - to continue supporting the PLO in the name of a peace process, which by now, everyone understands is entirely fictional...

 

The peace process is predicated on the notion that all those pathologies are Israel's fault. If Israel would just surrender Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians, then the Arabs writ large, and the Muslim world as a whole will cast aside their support for jihad and terrorism and everything will be fine.


by Ronn Torossian (April 22, 2014)

This week thousands of Christians from all over the world prayed freely in the Old City of Jerusalem, as Israeli (Jewish) police ensured their safety...

 

While Christian pilgrims thronged the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City Saturday, United Nations Middle East peace envoy Robert Serry issued a statement denouncing what he called an "incident", saying that "this security wasn't something you associate with a peaceful procession for Easter."

 

What was this "incident"? The UN envoy was upset that the peace procession was stopped at a security checkpoint before the church "despite earlier assurances... of unhindered access."

 

Does this fool know whether perhaps a terrorist - or a group of terrorists - had infiltrated the throngs of worshippers? Or whether there was an empty bag which couldn't be accounted for? 

 

Or any other reason which would require security to check people - as they do everywhere in the world?

 

A Bipartisan Message To Iran

by Senator Ted Cruz (April 18, 2014)

Congressman Lamborn (l) 
and Senator Cruz (r)

 

Thanks to President Obama for joining a unanimous Congress and signing S 2195 into law. This bill gives the president the authority to deny visas to United Nations ambassadors who are known terrorists, such as Iran's recent nominee Hamid Aboutalebi, who was a participant in the 1979 hostage crisis... 


This legislation also addresses the larger issue of unfriendly nations using the United Nations as a bludgeon against America. It is not too hard to imagine a resurgent Taliban sending an al Qaeda operative to be Afghanistan's representative or Bashar Assad sending a Hezbollah agent to represent Syria. 
 
In a year when we are being asked to increase our financial contribution to the U.N. while that institution has proven completely incapable of dealing with international crises from Syria to Ukraine (but can still handily churn out its annual condemnation of our ally Israel), it seems only prudent to look at ways to strengthen America's position by giving the president greater discretion over who can and cannot come into our country under its auspices... 
 
Credit is due not only to the president but also to Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Col.), who introduced this bill in the House, and my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle, from Chuck Schumer to Lindsey Graham, for standing together and swiftly passing this legislation and sending it to the White House.Photo

__________

Did You Spot This Photo?
Arab-Israeli Captains Petah Tikvah Soccer Team


Noura Abu-Shanab (center), an Arab-Israeli, recently became a member the Hapoel Petah Tikvah soccer team in central Israel. Ms. Abu-Shanab, who is a co-captain, has noted that on her team, "there is no difference between Arab or Israeli players. We are united; like one hand."Forgotten

Denver's Forgotten Holocaust Survivors

Their addresses were Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau, Bergen Belsen, Majdanek and Teresienstadt.  They lived on Vrain, Tennyson, Raleigh, Canejos and West Colfax.

 

What were their names?  Do you recall what they did for a living?  Where did they go to shul?  What became of their children?

 

The legacy of Denver's remarkable community of Holocaust Survivors is endangered. 

 

After the Shoah, a striking number of those Jews who survived the concentration camps, fought as partisans, spent the war in hiding, or emigrated ahead of the German tanks, found themselves and their meager belongings arriving on the tracks of Union Station.

 

Many were single.  Some married.  A few carried infants and toddlers.

 

Just how many journeyed to our state between the war's end and the early 1960s is unclear.  Without a doubt there were more than 100 survivors.  Likely, several hundred.  A thorough search of the public records may yet pinpoint a more exact number. [Please help.]

 

At the time, Denver - unlike the major cities along the East Coast - hosted a tiny Jewish community consisting largely of the descendants of early pioneering mining families, and later World War I immigrants and others who were part of the respiratory wave who were treated at the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society from 1904-1940.

 

That so many Survivors wound up in Colorado was extraordinary.  Our Jewish Family & Children's Services and other local Jewish community groups helped resettle the immigrants.

 

The largest cluster of Survivors planted new roots on Denver's West Side, living in modest homes and apartments located between Sheridan Boulevard and Federal Boulevard, from 13th Avenue to 17th Avenue.

The classrooms at Colfax Elementary, and to a lesser degree Cheltenham Elementary, were dotted with the children of survivors who were destined to begin anew - in a country they would come to know and appreciate as their own.  America.

 

The heritage of Denver's Holocaust Survivors and their immigrant experience is both rich and of historical importance.

 

For most of these families, the horrors of the Holocaust did not cease in the arrival terminals of Union Station.  Those who did survive had the dual struggle of having had their lives unimaginably shattered and needing to reconstruct their families, livelihoods and sense of community in a new land.

 

Their children did not witness the atrocities first hand, but read them morning and night in the faces of their parents, and spotted them at each birthday and simcha by the glaring absence of the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who they never knew.   

 

To tell the whole story of the Holocaust and relay its lessons for future generations, the tale cannot and must not stop at with the liberations in 1944 and 1945.  Indeed, the history of the Holocaust continues to be written today, as the third and fourth generation of survivors are impacted and respond to events long ago and far away.

 


Never Forget - Action Steps
 
Attend:      

Survivors Memorial - From Generation to Generation

Sunday, April 27th - 4 pm   Jewish Community Center/Phillips Social Hall
 

Flashback: Voyage of the Damned

Jewish refugees boarding what would become known to history as the Voyage of the Damned (May 13, 1939) - USHMM
Co-host Maxwell Rotbart (l) with
survivor Dr. Rudy Jacobson

Seventy-five years ago next month, the MS St. Louis, a German motorship filled with close to 1,000 Jewish refugees, left port at Hamburg headed for Havana - where they all had entry visas.

Because of internal politicking, the Cuban government cancelled the vast majority of those visas midway through the St. Louis's trans-atlantic voyage and refused to let the Jewish refugees disembark.

Child refugees on board the Voyage of the Damned (Summer 1939) - USHMM
Turning to the United States and Canada for help, the passengers on the ship were denied entry to those nations - the U.S. Coast Guard in fact escorted the St. Louis away from its territorial waters as the ship tried to land in Florida - forcing the passengers to return to Europe after 40 days at sea. Up to two-thirds of the ship's passengers, people who had seen sunbathers on Miami Beach with their own eyes, perished in the Holocaust. 

Radio Chavura interviewed Dr. Rudy Jacobson, a child survivor of the so-called "Voyage of the Damned" in November 2012. You can hear his story here.Facebook

HAVE YOUR CHILDREN JOINED YET?
 
Click on image above to view the 3rd and 4th Gen page

The newly launched 3rd and 4th Gen Holocaust survivors Facebook page is a place for young people to connect and share stories about their ancestors and their own lives today.Hollinger

Flashback: Last Year's Holocaust Remembrance Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day Interview Is Available from Radio Chavura

Chelmno, Poland

DENVER, April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - In association with Holocaust Remembrance Day and the weeklong National Days of Remembrance, Radio Chavura is featuring an exclusive audio interview with Andrew Hollinger, director of communications at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 

The 20-minute audio may be heard online or downloaded for free at: www.HearItExtra.com.

 

This month the Holocaust Museum (USHMM) is marking its 20th Anniversary. Hollinger tells Radio Chavura about the mission of the Holocaust Museum, the progress the museum has made over the past two decades, and the many challenges still ahead.

 

Also featured on the Radio Chavura audio are the voices of Holocaust survivors and members of the 2nd and 3rd Generations who have been interviewed on previous editions of the program.Today


TODAY: Sunday, April 27th

 

As the number of first generation Holocaust survivors dwindles, the mantle of carrying on the lessons of the Shoah has fallen to members of the 2nd and 3rd generations. This annual event - now in its 62nd year - which Radio Chavura co-host Dean Rotbart is emceeing, will focus on the next steps for Holocaust education in the United States.
Cantor Kutner
Cantor Kutner

With the rising tide of global anti-Semitism, the effort to delegitimize Israel on college campuses, and concerns about worldwide Jewish demographics, it is more important than ever to arm our children with the tools they need to survive a potentially dangerous 21st century.

Please attend this important Holocaust memorial. The fight for our future is underway.

In addition to Dean Rotbart (a member of the 2nd generation), speakers will include Julius Diezch-Reich (1st generation), Talia Zall (3rd generation), and spiritual leaders Rabbi Heyman and Cantor Kutner.

The event begins at 4:00 pm at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center's Philips Social Hall (350 S. Dahlia Street).

Listen to interviews with last year's participants here.JCC

COME JOIN IN THE FUN!!!
Kick off the Summer at the JCC
Click on the image above to read more about the festival!

May 18th is not going to be just another Sunday, laying around the house, watching television, and trolling over unfinished work...

It's the 11th Annual Celebrate Family Festival - Colorado Jewry's official launch of the summer season!
 
Come to the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (350 S. Dahlia, 80246) and hang out with your friends, watch the kids run around and play, and enjoy great summer food.
 
The event is free to the public, so stop by anytime between 10:30 am and 2:30 pm to join in on the fun.

Plus, your favorite Jewish radio show team will be there conducting live interviews and taking pictures. Check out our images from last year's festival and last year's audio.Calendar

Hebrew Calendar

Radio Chavura's Colorado Jewish Calendar 
  
 
April 30 (Wednesday): The JCC South Denver (9625 E. Arapahoe Rd, 80112) will be hosting an Essential Music of the Holocaust: History and Hope event from 7:00 pm until 8:10 pm, featuring Colorado Hebrew Chorale soprano and child survivor Estelle Nadel. RSVP at (303) 799-6975. Free.

 

May 3 (Saturday): Temple Sinai's Second Annual Spirituality Retreat, led by lay members of the congregation, will take place from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Call Susan Bernhardt at 303-523-5289 for more information or to RSVP. Space Limited. Fee. 
 
May 4 (Sunday): Come hear the national president of Hadassah, Marcie Natan, speak at Temple Sinai (3509 S. Glencoe, 80237) from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm. RSVP at 303-321-7430.
__________
 
The Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (350 S. Dahlia, 80246) will be holding an event for Yom HaZikaron - Israel's Memorial Day - from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Free and open to the community.
 
May 7 (Wednesday): The Shalom Cares Annual Fundraising EventOutside the Music Box - will take place at the Lone Tree Arts Center from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Call Marilyn Bogan at 303-680-5000 to RSVP. Fee.
 
May 9 (Friday): Zalman Popack will be leading a Carlebach Kabbalat Shabbat on Denver's East Side. Stay tuned for more details.
 
May 10 (Saturday): Bnei Akiva's Gillian Hecht will be hosting a girls-only AP Exam "de-stresser night," featuring spa massages and manicures. Phone Steve Feldman at 720-394-3020 for more details.
 
May 11 (Sunday): Come participate in a special Rodef Shalom (450 S. Kearney, 80224) farewell brunch at 11:00 am for executive director Sandy Greene. Register here. Fee.
 
May 13 (Tuesday): The Jewish National Fund Annual Breakfast will take place at 7:45 am at the Hebrew Educational Alliance (3600 S. Ivanhoe, 80237). Register here.
 
May 18 (Sunday): Following the Celebrate Family Festival (see ad above), the Walk For Israel will begin, leaving the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (350 S. Dahlia, 80246) at 2:30 pm and arriving at the Denver Academy of Torah and the Ekar Farm at 3:30 pm. Registration required at JEWISHcolorado.org/walkforisrael. Free.

 Send calendar notices for your organization's upcoming events to us at: [email protected]




 Click on image to register now!Job

 What A Job! - Schmoozing and Profiting

 

Sales Collage

  

Radio Chavura, which will soon complete its second year serving the local Jewish community, is seeking a part-time, commission-only sales person to sell sponsorships for our program, newsletter, website, and other content. 

 

The right candidate will enjoy "schmoozing" with Jewish business owners and non-Jewish businesses that serve greater Denver's vibrant Jewish community. This is a perfect opportunity for a candidate with previous sales experience who would enjoy the networking and socializing that comes with doing person-to-person sales. 

 

We pay a generous commission on all sales, beginning at 20% and ranging as high as 45%.   

 

Please email a brief note of interest, contact information, and sales experience to [email protected]. For more information, phone Maxwell or Dean at 855-JEWISH-4.


Photography by Avital
 Children * Parties * Graduations * Camps * Events * Reunions



Contact Avital at by email at
[email protected] or by phone at
1-(855)-539-4744.

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