Coalition Spotlight: More Than a Light in the Darkness

This week, Jews around the world are celebrating Hanukkah, the “festival of lights.” The holiday commemorates the heroism of the Maccabees and the miracle of a small jar of oil found in the Second Temple in Jerusalem that lasted for eight nights. We wish all our partners around the world a joyous holiday season!

Here is a sampling of how our coalition has made a difference this week:

Spotlight

Artists4Israel: In partnership with Artists4Israel, the first U.S. installment of the “Righteous Among the Nations Global Mural Project” was unveiled in New York City on Sunday.

A massive mural — paying homage to the late Tibor Baranski, a courageous Hungarian American who rescued more than 3,000 Jews during the Holocaust — was revealed outside Vig Bar, a Nolita hotspot. It was created by world-renowned artist Fernando SKI Romero.

The presentation coincided with the first night of Hanukkah and was followed by a menorah-lighting ceremony led by Rabbi Menachem Creditor.

Tibor Baranski’s son spoke of his father’s legacy, quoting his wise words, “Love each other, love each other sincerely.”

Claims Conference: International Holocaust Survivors Night is an annual event honoring Holocaust survivors around the world. The theme of this year’s virtual event — held on Tuesday — was “hope in the face of rising antisemitism.”

Remarks were heard from dignitaries including Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel; Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of of the Federal Republic of Germany; Amb. Stuart Eizenstat, Special Adviser on Holocaust Issues to the U.S. Secretary of State; and Holocaust envoys from the U.S., U.K. Canada, Germany, and Croatia.

Watch a full recording of the event here.

Hindu American Foundation: The HAF hosted a important conversation on “Confronting Hate Crimes and Hinduphobia,” with HAF Managing Directors, Samir Kalra, Esq. and Sheetal Shah discussing what HAF does behind the scenes for the Hindu American community when it is targeted by bigots.

To learn more about the HAF, please visit: hinduamerican.org

Upcoming Events

Arolsen Archives: Together with the Archivo General de Andalucía, Arolsen Archives opened the 20th #StolenMemory poster exhibition in Seville, Spain, last Friday. 

The exhibition shows 32 posters that tell the stories of people who were persecuted and deported to concentration camps in the Nazi era. The exhibition will be on display at the Archivo General de Andalucía until May 15, 2023.

Read more (in Spanish) here.

National Council of Young Israel: The first annual Menorah Building Contest has started. If you are creative and good at building stuff, this contest is for you. Build a functional and creative menorah and submit your picture by Monday, December 26!

Center for Jewish History (CJH) and the American Sephardi Federation (ASF):

In the lecture “Citizen, Subject, National, Protégé: Jewish Belonging in North Africa & the Middle East, 1815-1914,” Professor Jessica Marglin (University of Southern California) will trace the modern history of Jewish citizenship in North Africa and the Middle East, including nationality legislation; the abolition of dhimmi status; the status of Jews in European colonies; and their citizenship in independent nation-states.

The talk will take place on Thursday, January 19th, at 7 PM ET, at the Center for Jewish History in New York City. Register here.

Partner Achievements

NGO Monitor: NGO Monitor published a new report — which can be read in full here — investigating the possible misuse of German development cooperation funds by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with terror links. The paper also discusses the challenge that development frameworks face on how to improve transparency and anti-terror regulations in order to counter unintentional funding of terrorist-affiliated NGOs, while at the same time not restricting the operations of genuine human rights organizations.

Disclosed by @welt: Our new report examines the potential for abuse of 🇩🇪 development funds by terror-affiliated NGOs.

Read it here: https://t.co/aOejKsmjzj https://t.co/TEY1NBjmY2

— NGO Monitor (@NGOmonitor) December 13, 2022

Recommended Reading, Viewing, and Listening

March of the Living Australia: Jewish Olympian Jemima Montag joined MOTL Australia for a moving conversation about the loss of her grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, one month before the Olympic Games in which she competed, and the impact of her grandmother’s legacy on her life.

Moment Magazine: Listen to this playlist featuring some classic creative Hanukkah songs while eating your favorite sufganiyot.

Hillel International: Jon Falk, Associate Vice President of Hillel International’s Antisemitism and Israel Action Program and Strategic Response, offers his perspective on the prejudice and hatred Jewish students are facing on college campuses today. 

Read more here.