On the Eve Holocaust Remembrance Day, the opening event of the Brave Together and the Center for Jewish Impact was launched. During the event we heard testimony from survivor Arie Pinsker, born in Romania, who told his personal story 'Child in the shadow of the Holocaust,' to hundreds of participants from the Leo Baeck school. Prior to Mr. Pinsker's testimony, the Romanian Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Radu Loannid, spoke about the reasonability each of us has in countering hate speech in society whilst advocating for tolerance and acceptance of the other.
The event was also under the presence of our Chairman, Robert Singer, and Zvi Ravner, the former Deputy Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador of Israel to Poland.
We had the pleasure of partnering with Brave Together, which seeks to change the paradigm in how the Holocaust is remembered as a sacrifice of heroes and heroines, to one where survivors and those that perished are an inspiration.
Amb. Radu Loannid spoke at length on Romania’s complicity in the holocaust and refusal to reconcile with its dark history until after the fall of Communism. In addition, he referred to the Holocaust as a ‘European project,’ that would not have happened without the involvement of ‘many countries.’ He went to speak about the Romanian Prime Minister’s commitment to a new museum honoring Romanian Jewry in order to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.
Arie Pinsker shared with over 200 participants his survival story: "The Holocaust and can not be explained to a stranger, a stranger who was not there can never truly understand what happened… …I have accompanied 73 delegations of school children, soldiers and policemen. This is my mission and I feel that thanks to my story, people finally understand what the Land of Israel means for the Jewish people."
Robert Singer, Chairman of the Center for Jewish Impact had the following to say: “The Center for Jewish Impact is pleased to take part in the opening event of the Brave together and to bring to the attention of hundreds of students and participants the importance of Holocaust remembrance education through this exciting encounter. Thank you to the Romanian Ambassador to Israel for your important words, together we will continue to work hand in hand through education and information for the benefit of future generations."
