JHC Social Club

Barbara Sacks

Holocaust survivors, volunteers and guides, together with their friends, meet monthly at the Jewish Holocaust Centre (JHC) Social Club. The Club continues to attract stimulating and informative speakers, and participants take part in lively discussion after each presentation.

Over the past few months, the Social Club has addressed a variety of thought-provoking subjects. George Golvan QC is the child of Holocaust survivors and a barrister who has been an active litigator, mediator, arbitrator and board chairperson. He spoke to us, however, about ‘Iran – Off The Beaten Track’, describing his journey through this fascinating country, illustrated with wonderful photos.

Writer, painter and the daughter of Baghdadi Jews, Nita Tiffaha Jawary presented a lecture about ‘The Farhud’ (The Anarchy), a cataclysmic but often-overlooked subject. Nazi antisemitism was rife in the Middle East during the Second World War and, in Iraq, antisemitic violence culminated in the massive attack against Jews in Baghdad in June 1941 known as ‘The Farhud’.

Eglal Ali, from the Nuba Mountains Community Association of Victoria, joined Lisa Buchner from Stand Up to discuss Eglal’s amazing journey from Dilling, a small town in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, to Australia. Arriving in Australia in 2005, and having worked in a clothing factory in Sudan, she now works in aged care and is a leader of her community association.

Writer Heather Morris, who had previously written screenplays, was introduced to an elderly gentleman she was told ‘might just have a story worth telling’. That meeting with Lale Sokolov proved to be life changing for both. It resulted in Heather writing a screenplay about Lale’s story and then reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, which was the thought-provoking subject of her address.

Nevo Zisin is a Jewish, queer, non-binary activist and public speaker, and the author of the newly released memoir Finding Nevo, a memoir on gender transition. Nevo has run workshops in schools and workplaces around gender inclusivity, and is a contact point in the Jewish community for others dealing with issues of gender and sexuality in their own lives. Nevo spoke to us on the topic of ‘Living My Truth’, raising some confronting but important issues.

Physician and award-winning writer, Leah Kaminsky, presented a lecture titled ‘Bearing Witness through Fiction’. The author of fiction and non-fiction, her debut novel, The Waiting Room, addresses issues of memory, love and loss, and the insights she shared resulted in spirited questions and discussion.

The JHC Social Club attracts between 45 and 60 people regularly, and welcomes members of the community to attend for bagels and coffee, and for stimulating and lively discussion. The Club meets monthly on Thursday mornings at the Jewish Holocaust Centre.

For further information about the JHC Social Club, please contact Barbara Sacks on 0404 224 498.