Dear Friends,
Some of you might be aware that many Jews mark tonight and tomorrow, the 27th of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar, as "Yom HaShoah" -- a day of remembrance of "the Holocaust" -- specifically commemorating the murder of 6 million Jews and 5 million other victims of the Nazis. Many observant Jews include remembrances of this holocaust along with commemorating and learning from other tragedies in our history on "Tish'a B'Av (the 9th of Av)" in the summer, so Yom HaShoah has not become a full-fledged national holiday marked unanimously by the entire Jewish people. Also, many communities
conduct programs about the Nazi holocaust in November on "Kristallnacht". Nevertheless, some do offer programs on this day.
Here at Touro, we do a program for Kristallnacht, and we also say prayers for and learn lessons from the Nazi holocaust along with other tragedies on the day of Tish'a B'Av. Although we don't do a program for Yom HaShoah, I wanted to acknowledge and inform you about it.
Even more than that, I want to draw your attention to a way that we can concretely use the lessons of one tragedy to motivate us to stand against and deter others. Specifically, I am copying into this email a notice I received from the American Jewish World Service publicizing such a campaign.
To be honest, I faced a bit of a dilemma regarding whether to forward this to you all, as I realize some could view this as a political piece and we generally discourage dissemination of political material in our Touro lists. On the other hand, it would go against our values to remain silent while people suffer and we could do something about it. So, hoping for your indulgence, I am sending this out. If you do not feel so moved to act on this particular cause, perhaps you can select another cause that does move you and you can act on that one instead.
Please scroll down to the bottom of this email and read the relevant quotes I've added.
May the memories of those martyred by the Nazis serve as inspiration to us to vigilantly oppose persecution of others, and to treat each other on both personal and national levels with justice and love.
Amen.
TELL THE PRESIDENT TO DO THE RIGHT THING. SIGN THE OPEN LETTER.
Dear Rabbi,
Tonight marks the beginning of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we honor the memory of the six million Jews who were slaughtered while the world stood silently by. As Jews, we have a deep understanding of the danger of inaction in the face of genocide. And so Yom HaShoah also serves as a reminder that as global citizens and advocates for justice, there is much more that we can do - especially for the people of Darfur.
This Yom HaShoah, please join me and other members of the AJWS community by signing an open letter that calls on President Bush not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. AJWS will deliver signatures to the White House on Monday, May 12.
China has acted as both an enabler and protector of the government of Sudan. Since 2004, China has supplied 90 percent of all small arms purchased by Sudan - weapons used in the murder and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Darfuri people. And as Sudan's largest trading partner, China continually thwarts international action to end the violence in Darfur. The attendance of President Bush at the opening ceremony would implicitly endorse the actions of the government of China.
In the words of Elie Wiesel, "a memorial unresponsive to the future would violate the memory of the past." Please join me in taking action for the people of Darfur this Yom HaShoah by signing the open letter to President Bush asking him not to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics this summer.
Sincerely,
Ruth Messinger
President, AJWS
Take Action
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy), was a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (14 January 1892 6 March 1984) was a Protestant pastor and social activist.
Shalom!
Yitzchak (Kenny) Kaufman
Rabbi, Director of Campus Life
Touro University, Mare Island, California
(707) 638-5507
[email protected]
