Tag: Holocaust

  • Nightmares for a new generation

    Nightmares for a new generation

    I remember being younger than her and being squished on a bench in the school lunchroom/assembly room, hearing about the Holocaust for the first time.

  • Questions I answer for my kids on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

    “Those bad guys… ummm… what are they called again?” “Nazis.”

  • Speaking up.

    It won’t be long before Jewish parents of school-age children no longer remember the point. The memory becomes a faded square of yellow fabric, eventually disintegrating under museum lighting. The pictures, cliche. The speeches, routine. It’s probably already true to some degree, but most of us are young enough to remember the first time we…

  • Exceptional Jew vs Jew hatred, brought to you this time by Charedi protesters.

    This is an incredible low. Something I didn’t expect. It only helps a little that I know for a fact, from personal relationships, that sane, rational, open, and loving charedim do exist in Israel and beyond. However, this – this is unforgivable. The chilul Hashem, the national insult, the Jew vs Jew hatred that has…

  • On kids, memorials, and what brings them together.

    So it’s come to this: I go to Holocaust memorial services in Israel and all I can think about is how my kids may turn out in this culture. Well, in the first place, I have yet to be impressed by an Israeli-made Holocaust memorial service. They’ve lacked intensity, empathy and authenticity so far. It…

  • If Elie Weisel were my grandfather…

    I want Elie Weisel to come tuck me in at night and tell me stories… They don’t all have to be depressing just because they come from a Nobel Peace Prize-winning, bestselling author of a Holocaust survivor. Although they would probably all be dramatic. Here is Mr. Weisel telling his favorite, inspiring story at the…

  • Holocaust Remembrance in Israel, 5758.

  • Today's word: טקס

    We attended the Yom Hashoah tekes (טקס or ceremony) tonight, organized by the neighborhood Scouts and Bnei Akiva kids. It was very much a small-town tekes. A few things came to mind while I stood and watched: It never occurred to me before how it must have been for the Mizrachi population to get to…