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bulletin 7 5 T H A N N I V E R S A RY 1 9 3 7 - 2 0 1 2 volume 77, no. 3 october 29, 2012 cheshvan 13, 5773
21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1R9
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Publisher: Mitchell Bellman
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Editor: Michael Regenstreif $2.00
Heroism of Raoul Wallenberg to be subject of Holocaust Education Month launch event By Louise Rachlis “I’ve taken on this assignment, and I will never be able to go back to Stockholm without knowing inside myself that I’d done all a man could do to save as many Jews as possible,” Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg told an embassy colleague in 1944 before the Soviet army entered Budapest. On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Raoul Wallenberg, his heroism is still being discussed and honoured. “There are a lot of events around the world this year celebrating his birth and discussing his activities during the Holocaust,” said Robert Rozett, director of the Yad Vashem Libraries in Jerusalem, who will give the keynote address, Raoul Wallenberg 1912-2012, at the Holocaust Education Month launch event. “I’ll be talking about ‘why him?’ and not some of the other righteous,” said Rozett in
a telephone interview with the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin from his Jerusalem office. “The answer is that Wallenberg is really in many ways representative of the free or western world. He’s really the only diplomat who is especially sent into an area with express orders to engage in rescue activities where Jews are being deported.” Rozett’s ongoing subject of research has been the Holocaust in Hungary. “My very first research for my PhD was [on] rescue in Hungary, and Wallenburg was a central figure. He was not the only rescuer, but he was part of a confederation of people in Hungary involved in rescue together.” Another aspect of Rozett’s talk, he said, will be on why it took the world so long to send someone like Wallenberg into the cauldron of the Holocaust. “Why didn’t it happen earlier? Why Budapest, 1944? We’re talking about a very
large event and a lot of factors. Rescue is a complex issue, not black and white. Many things help us understand why Wallenberg.” The issues are still important and relevant today. “When we ask questions about why it took so long for the free world to send somebody into the fray, we have to ask what our own red lines are to respond to people in a threatening situation,” he said. “We have to look at our history to try to understand that and what we should do in our own situation.” It is an issue for Israel and for other countries as well. “Unfortunately we live in a world where a lot of people live under threat. What actions can we take that actually help the situation? We look back at what might help us with our own problems. History never tells (Continued on page 2)
Robert Rozett, director of the Yad Vashem Libraries in Jerusalem, will give the keynote address at the Holocaust Education Month launch event.
Ottawa’s first Sephardi Festival to be held November 22-25 By Maxine Miska Soloway JCC Immerse yourself in Sephardi culture for a few days: experience the richness of Sephardi music, art, food and religious traditions when the Sephardi Association of Ottawa launches its first Sephardi Festival from November 22 to 25. “We are very proud of the many centuries of our cultural traditions,” said Eva Amzallag, president of the Sephardi Association of Ottawa. “We are very excited to be celebrating and sharing these
traditions with all of the Ottawa Jewish community.” The Sephardi Association was recently renewed after some years of relative inactivity. A small group of individuals met almost two years ago with a vision for new and innovative programs aimed at both the Sephardi community and Ottawa’s broader Jewish community. “Our goal is to help build the Sephardi presence in Ottawa through cultural, religious and social activities, while also enriching
Jewish programming in Ottawa,” said Amzallag. “We hope the community takes advantage of the events being organized in our first Sephardi Festival.” The Festival begins on Thursday, November 22 with an exhibition and vernissage of Sephardi and Israeli paintings from Montreal’s Aliyah Arts Galerie. Artists Michel D’Anastasio and Haim Sherrf will welcome viewers at a vernissage at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (SJCC) from (Continued on page 2)
Israeli superstar musician David Broza will perform November 24 at the SJCC during the Sephardi Festival.
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