8
education
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According to a poll commissioned by Yad
Vashem in 2008 following the launch of its
Arabic website, 58% of Israeli Arabs believe
it necessary to learn about the Holocaust in
school. However, due to political and other
reasons, it has been historically difficult for
many Israeli-Arab students to attend seminars
and programs about the Shoah at Yad Vashem.
Nevertheless, as the Holocaust is intrinsic to
Israeli society and a critical topic for humanity
worldwide, Yad Vashem views it of the utmost
importance to raise Holocaust awareness among
Israel’s Arab sector.
Thanks to the generous support of the
Beracha Foundation (Israel), 81 groups of
students from Israel’s Arab sector – comprising
1,595 youth – attended tailor-made seminars at
Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust
Studies in the 2007-2008 academic year.
During these seminars, the Holocaust
is presented primarily through first-person
accounts, giving a human face to the danger that
racism creates. In addition, participants engage in
a special program presenting Muslim-Albanian
Righteous Among the Nations.
Educators at the schools that participated
in the seminars described the program as an
important bridge for their youth to connect with
Israeli society, promote feelings of empathy
and foster an increased understanding of the
Holocaust.
According to the International School’s
Director Dorit Novak, Arab-Israeli students
come to Yad Vashem “not only to better learn
about the historical event of the Holocaust, but
also to enhance their perception of its meaning
in Israeli consciousness and as a phenomenon
of universal significance.”
The author is Foundation Relations Coordinator
at the International School for Holocaust Studies.
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A series of
photographs acquired by the
Yad Vashem Archives in its early years were
accompanied by very little information, but
were described as documenting the renovations
of the Great Synagogue on Herzog Max Street
in Munich after
Kristallnacht. During a recent
investigation by Yad Vashem experts, it became
clear that the photos were actually of one of
the first synagogues to have been destroyed in
Germany, months before Kristallnacht, and that
they document the process of the municipal
authorities tearing it down on 9 June 1938, or
shortly thereafter. In other words, the scaffolding
seen around the building actually served the
purpose of dismantling – not repairing – the
building.
Photographs from the Holocaust period serve
as important historical visual documentation,
and play a central role in Holocaust studies as
well as in the commemoration of its victims.
However, the use of these photos has always
been problematic because of missing data,
the multiplicity of descriptions, forgeries and
erroneous interpretations.
At the beginning of May 2009, Yad
Vashem hosted the first-ever international
workshop on the subject of photography and
photographs from the Holocaust in order
to discuss these problems and to promote
cooperation between organizations with such
photographs in their possession. In addition
to Yad Vashem representatives, participants
included representatives of the German Federal
Archives, the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum (USHMM), Beth Hatefutsoth-The Nahum
Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora,
Educational Programs for
Arab-Israeli Youth
by Lonny Wilk
The Camera Doesn’t Lie
by Dr. Daniel Uziel
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The July edition of
Teaching the Legacy, the
e-newsletter for Holocaust educators, focuses on
Jews in prewar culture and art. The e-newsletter
includes a main article on this theme, as well as
articles on prewar culture and antisemitism, and
synagogue artwork. As always, the newsletter
features new publications, book reviews and
updates on recent and upcoming activities at
the International School for Holocaust Studies
and across Yad Vashem.
Each of the School’s
English-language
online courses is now recognized for professional
development credit (gmul hishtalmut) hours
by Israel’s Ministry of Education. The courses,
intended for teachers and the general public,
cover a wide range of Holocaust-related topics,
including prewar Jewish life in Europe, the
rise of Nazism and persecution of Jews in
Germany, ghettos, the Nazi camp system and
the “Final Solution,” postwar commemoration
and Holocaust denial. These accredited courses,
offered on specific dates, run alongside general-
audience courses, open throughout the year.
A
new teacher’s guide, “Your Son, Your Only
One,” focuses on the biblical sacrifice of Isaac as
a recurring motif in Holocaust poetry. In keeping
with the International School’s interdisciplinary
approach to Holocaust study, this unit covers
works by several preeminent poets: Yehuda
Amichai, T. Carmi, Amir Gilboa, Haim Gouri
and Uri Zvi Greenberg. The guide includes
suggestions for approaching the subject matter,
discussion questions and relevant biographical
information about the featured poets.
The author works in the Internet Department at the
International School for Holocaust Studies.
New in the Virtual School
www1.yadvashem.org/education
by Jonathan Clapsaddle
Photographs from the
Holocaust period serve
as important historical
visual documentation,
and play a central role in
Holocaust studies as well
as in the commemoration
of its victims
■
Israeli-Arab and Jewish students tour Auschwitz
during a Yad Vashem trip to Poland, March 2009