Archive
Book Review: ‘Kiss Every Step’
Kiss Every Step by Doris Martin with Ralph S. Martin, Booksurge Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4392-5606-0, ©2009, $14.95, 222 pages
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.
Fred Reiss
WINCHESTER, California — The year is 1939. Hitler tells the Reichstag that if war erupts, the Jews will be exterminated. Eichmann is placed in charge of the Prague branch of the Jewish Emigration Office. The Soviet Union’s Molotov and Germany’s Ribbentrop sign a mutual non-aggression pact. Germany invades Poland on September 1. Three days later, the innocent life of little twelve-year old Dora Szpringer (now Doris Martin) is shattered. She can no longer roam the streets freely jumping rope, tossing a ball, or playing hop scotch with her best friend Rutka. The playful romps through the old castle grounds, which overlook the city, are over. The joyous visits to Gipsman’s fruit and ice cream shop have ended. On September 4, the Wehrmacht entered Dora’s hometown of Bendzin, Poland. Within a week, they burn the synagogue and many Jewish homes, with the people locked inside them.
In Kiss Every Step, Doris Martin, together with her husband Ralph, tells the remarkable and disturbing war-time encounters of the Szpringers, a family that miraculously survived the Holocaust intact, as they struggle to outwit Hitler’s army and the by-and-large anti-Semitic Polish population. Some of the chapters are autobiographical, while others are first-person accounts of events told by Doris’ siblings, Isaak, Moishe, Josef, and Laya. Each of them provides a narrative that authenticates the worst of human brutality, allowing us to vicariously experience the wiliness, cunning, and just plain luck that the Szpringer family members used to stay alive in the Polish, Russian, and German countryside.
Over three million Jews lived in Poland at the start of World War II. These unique lives mostly end in death. Thus, we are fortunate that Doris Martin has written about the disturbing episodes of her childhood and teenage years, which allow us to understand everyday life of the Jews under Nazi occupation and to some small degree, understand the terror that enveloped their very existence.
Hitler set out to make the world free of Jews. Kiss Every Step is a compelling account of the success of one family, the Szpringers, in defeating this nefarious plan.
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Dr. Fred Reiss is a retired public and Hebrew school teacher and administrator. He is the author of The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars; Public Education in Camden, NJ: From Inception to Integration.; Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, the Book that Started Kabbalah, Revealed; and Reclaiming the Messiah.
Jewish Agency wants Israelis to become more Jewish and more Diaspora Jews to visit Israel
JERUSALEM (Press Release)–Once again at an historic crossroads for Israel and the Jewish people, the Jewish Agency for Israel has examined changes and challenges in the world and the Board of Governors has approved a new strategic plan that seeks to align its resources and goals to best serve current and anticipated needs. The plan, entitled “Securing the Future: Forging a Jewish agency for Israel and the Jewish people” was approved at a meeting of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors in Jerusalem on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010.
In a vote taken after a three hour debate, there was but one vote against the plan cast by the body of 120 members which is comprised of representatives of Jewish federations of North America, Keren Hayesod and the World Zionist Organization.
The plan places Jewish identity building, in Israel as well as the Diaspora, in a central role in its planned activities, along with mobilizing social activism to address growing social needs in Israel and to encourage young Israelis to live more consciously “Jewish” lives.
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said he views the new strategic direction as a way to increase immigration to Israel. “In an era when aliyah is a matter of choice rather than duress, strengthening identity among young Jews will increase the number of those who choose to make Israel their home,” he said.
“The main danger facing the Jewish world today is a weakening of the connection of young Jews to their People and to the State of Israel,” said Sharansky, who led the new strategic planning process along with Board of Governors Chairman Richard Pearlstone. “Our new plan deals directly with this issue.”
“We were once a people without a homeland; we can’t become a homeland without a people,” said Dr. Misha Galperin, the Jewish Agency’s incoming head of Global External Affairs.
The approval of the strategic plans follows a year of deliberation and consultation. Now approved, the Jewish Agency will begin to implement the new plan in its programming and budget for 2011, which will be presented to the Board of Governors at its meeting in October.
“The Jewish world and the world at large are changing,” said Jewish Agency Director General Alan Hoffmann, who presented the plan to the board, “we have to seize the moment to confront the challenges and build on our strengths, both as an organization and as a people.”
The plan lays out programmatic areas of focus, while reaffirming the Jewish Agency’s long-held vision of ensuring the future of a connected, committed, global Jewish People with a strong Israel at its center. The plan states the mission of the organization as: Inspire Jews throughout the world to Connect with their People, heritage and homeland, and Empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.
At the opening session Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the new direction, saying that a goal should be set that “within five years every young Jewish adult who wants to visit Israel does so.” He also called for strengthening Jewish identity among Israeli youth and increasing their connection with the Jewish world.
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Preceding provided by Jewish Agency for Israel
U of Arizona seeking to reunite Holocaust families through DNA matches
TUCSON, Arizona (Press Release)–The DNA Shoah Project is a non-profit, humanitarian effort at the University of Arizona aiming to reunite families disrupted by the Holocaust.
We are building a database of genetic material from Shoah survivors and their immediate descendants in an attempt to match displaced relatives, provide wartime orphans and lost children with information about their biological families and eventually, when the database has reached sufficient size, assist in the identification of Holocaust-era victims whose remains continue to surface.
The project contains an educational component as well, employing current science and technology to teach the Holocaust in our schools. There is no cost to participants.
The project’s cofounders include Syd Mandelbaum, a scientist with a background in genetics and the son of two Holocaust survivors, and Dr. Michael Hammer, a renowned research scientist at the University of Arizona who specializes in human population genetics.
The success of our work depends on the creation of as large a database as possible. We are actively seeking DNA samples from survivors and second- and third-generation family members and we are traveling extensively to promote the project. When travel is not possible, we will send collection materials to anyone who requests them, free of charge.
The project’s web site features a short video providing an excellent overview of our efforts; the Media page of our site contains recent articles as well. Materials are currently only available in English at this time but translations are in the works.
Genealogists may be interested to know that we will again be presenting and exhibiting at this year’s IAJGS conference in Los Angeles, July 11 – 15.
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Preceding provided by the University of Arizona DNA Shoah Project
British trade union calls for boycott – Jerusalem Post, Israel
(WJC)–One of Britain’s largest labor unions votes for a boycott of Israel and for expelling Israel’si envoy in Britain, the ‘Jerusalem Post’ reports:
Jerusalem Post, Israel
25 June 2010
By Jonny Paul
One of Britain’s largest trade unions passed a motion at its annual conference in Bournemouth last week accusing Israel of lying over the Gaza flotilla incident and has called for a complete boycott of Israel and for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, it was confirmed on Thursday. The emergency motion was introduced on the third day of the annual conference of UNISON, the largest public sector union with around 1.4 million members. It said Israel was “brazenly lying” over the flotilla incident, as it “attempted to define it as an attempted lynch mob of its troops by passengers on the boats. “This is a further sign that Israel does not respond to words of condemnation, only action will have any effect,” the motion states.
One attendee said that the few Unison members who spoke against the motion were heckled. UNISON member Lilach Head, a care worker from Devon, spoke against the motion and was heckled. She said the atmosphere was intimidating and the vote was called before more people could speak against it. “Only three people were able to speak against the motion, there were six others waiting but then the vote was called. There was no hope,” she said.
The union will now support a full boycott of Israel – economic, cultural and sporting; it has joined the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign and will suspend ties with the Histadrut. In addition to these measures, UNISON is calling for Britain to expel the Israeli ambassador.
“Conference reaffirms the support for an economic, cultural and sporting boycott of Israel and call on Unison to join the scores of unions around the world who have endorsed the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Further to that as an immediate sanction for the illegal attack on the flotilla, we call on the government to expel the Israeli ambassador,” the motion states.
The union had already banned a organization that promotes Israeli-Palestinian trade union cooperation from having a stall at its conference.
UNISON’s deputy general secretary, Keith Sonnet, a pro-Palestinian activist and patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign – a fringe group that advocates a one-state solution and major player in the boycott and delegitimization campaign against Israel – wrote to Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI) saying the union was unable to offer the organization a stall because “we have no ongoing work with the TUFI, nor are we affiliated to the organization.”
“More than 2,000 delegates to UNISON’s national conference, representing our 1.4 million members, did indeed carry a motion condemning the Israeli attack on the Gaza freedom flotilla, in which nine people were reportedly killed,” a union spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
“The motion noted that the boats were carrying much needed humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza [and that] the passengers on the boats were civilians.”
Asked if the wording and the sentiments expressed in the motion were a fair and honest reflection of the views of the members, the spokesperson said: “Our 2,000 delegates were well aware of the words in the motion before it was carried. We have constantly called for an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and have pushed the case for a peaceful settlement – including an end to the bombings, on both sides.”
Asked how the motion would be implemented, the spokesperson said: “Our international committee will be taking forward the actions called for in the motion when it meets in the next couple of weeks.”
“Again, this is making accusations before the facts have been established and an investigation into this tragic incident have been completed,” said Stephen Scott, director of TUFI. “The outrageous attack on their fellow trade unionists in the Histadrut, who have called for a lifting of the blockade restrictions and the resumption of final-status peace talks, is counterproductive.
The Israeli embassy in London said the motion was “misleading” and “dishonest” and an “outrageous attempt” by anti-Israel activists to manipulate the union to serve their agenda.
“We categorically reject this misleading and dishonest motion. This is yet another outrageous attempt by anti-Israel elements to manipulate a union into serving their agenda.
“At a time when public sector workers face unprecedented challenges to their jobs and conditions, it is bizarre that the union’s leadership is focusing an emergency meeting on an overseas situation of which they are so clearly ignorant and prejudiced,” the spokesman said.
The Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine (TULIP), a movement working to unite trade unions and non-governmental organizations to counter boycott calls of Israel, said the motion presented an “utterly one-sided view” and could have easily been written in Iran.
“UNISON continues to speak with two voices,” said TULIP spokesman Eric Lee. “On the one hand, the union’s official policy remains support for a two-state solution, which was reaffirmed by the union leadership – and the union has actually done some good work on the ground, promoting Jewish-Arab peace and reconciliation.
“However, this resolution was hastily drafted and even more hastily adopted; it contradicts the union’s own long-standing position and instead presents an utterly one-sided view of the conflict. It fact, it so demonizes Israel that it could easily have been written in Teheran,” Lee added.
US Congress passes stiff Iran sanctions
(WJC)–In Washington, both houses of Congress on Thursday passed legislation imposing tough sanctions on companies and individuals linked to Iran’s nuclear program. The measures, which go well beyond the sanctions adopted some weeks ago by the United Nations, will also penalize companies from other countries that do business with Iran. While the Senate approved the bill unanimously, lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted by 408 to 8 to approve the measure. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law in the coming days.
Members of both parties in Congress stressed the importance of the new sanctions. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said: “We must stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a weapon that would surely threaten the national security of the United States and of Israel.” Republican Senator John McCain declared: “We will be posing a choice to companies around the world: Do you want to do business with Iran? Or do you want to business with the United States? We don’t think that is much of a choice, but we will force companies to make it. They can’t have it both ways.”
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran for failing to halt its nuclear enrichment program. They include tighter finance curbs and an expanded arms embargo, but not the stiff sanctions the US had wanted. Three earlier rounds of UN sanctions have blocked trade of “sensitive nuclear material”, frozen the financial assets of those involved in Iran’s nuclear activities, banned all of Iran’s arms exports and encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks.
Prior to the vote, the ‘Christian Leaders for a Nuclear-Free Iran’, an ad hoc coalition of evangelical, Catholic and other faith leaders who are calling for urgent action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, welcomed the sanctions package in Congress and said it would “significantly strengthen sanctions against the regime in Iran.” The coalition demanded for a swift implementation of the sanctions by the Obama administration.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.
World marks fourth anniversary of Gilad Shalit’s kidnapping by Palestinians
(WJC)–On Friday, the fourth anniversary of the capture of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, 23, by Hamas-linked militants in 
a cross-border raid was marked in Israel and around the world. Shalit is still held in captivity in the Gaza Strip, and so far, all efforts to secure his release through an exchange of prisoners have failed. Thousands of yellow balloons were to be released across Israel for the anniversary, a candle-lighting ceremony was held in Tel Aviv, and a major newspaper distributed yellow ribbons to its readers.
On Sunday, Gilad Shalit’s family is to be accompanied by thousands of supporters on a march from their home town in northern Israel to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem. Organizers of the march say they would remain camped there until they see their son again. Their campaign has widespread support among Israel’s public and in the country’s media.
On 25 June 2006, Palestinian fighters penetrated into an Israeli military camp through a tunnel they had dug. They killed two IDF soldiers, wounded another four and kidnapped the 19-year-old Shalit. He has since had no contact with his family or the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“Hamas authorities are violating the laws of war by refusing to allow Shalit to correspond with his family,” the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch said, adding that the young soldier’s prolonged detention “may amount to torture.” The group added in its statement: “Regardless of Hamas’ grievances against Israel, there are no grounds to cut Shalit off completely from his family.”
In New York, hundreds of people set sail on Thursday in what they dubbed the ‘True Freedom Flotilla’ (picture). Te
n boats sailed past the Statue of Liberty, around Manhattan, and past the United Nations, waving signs calling to free Gilad Shalit. The event was organized by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Among those in attendance were Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev and Michael Faulkner of the New Horizon Church, a Christian leader who has long been vocal in his support for Israel. “The real siege in Gaza is against Gilad Shalit,” said the organizers.
In the Italian capital Rome, where the City Council held a solidarity rally for his son, Gilad Shalit’s father Noam (picture, on the right) met with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who told him that the condition of Gilad’s captivity breached all international rules and showed the terrorist nature of Hamas. Frattini stressed: “EU countries cannot consider [Hamas] as a political interlocutor.” Noam Shalit s
aid the EU should apply the same pressure on Hamas than it had applied on Israel to lift the blockade of Gaza.
Meanwhile, Rome’s City Council made Gilad Shalit an honorary citizen of the Eternal City.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.
Jewish dancers attacked by Muslim teenagers at performance in Germany
(WJC)–A group of Jewish dancers has been attacked with stones by a group of teenagers during a performance at a street festival in Hanover, Germany. After one dancer suffered a leg injury, the group canceled its performance. The six attacking teenagers, five of whom are children of Muslim immigrants of Lebanese, Palestinian and Iranian origin, also used a megaphone to shout anti-Semitic slurs such as “Juden raus” [Jews out] during the attack, which occurred last Saturday. Two of the assailants aged 14 and 19 were arrested.
The city of Hanover has filed charges of slander and intent to cause grave physical harm. It was repotedly the first violent anti-Semitic incident this year in the Hanover area that was not committed by neo-Nazis.
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the newspaper ‘Die Welt’ that anti-Semitic feelings were widespread in both far-right and Muslim communities in the country. “It particularly saddens me that those anti-Semitic views can already be seen with such vehemence among children and youths,” she said.
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Preceding provided by world Jewish Congress.
Actor Jon Voight attacks Obama over Israel
(WJC)–The American actor Jon Voight – the father of actress Angelina Jolie – has launched a blistering attack on
President Barack Obama, accusing him of putting Israel in harm’s way and promoting anti-Semitism world-wide. In an open letter in the ‘Washington Post’, the 71-year-old, who is a staunch Republican supporter, wrote:
President Obama:
You will be the first American president that lied to the Jewish people, and the American people as well, when you said that you would defend Israel, the only Democratic state in the Middle East, against all their enemies. You have done just the opposite. You have propagandized Israel, until they look like they are everyone’s enemy – and it has resonated throughout the world. You are putting Israel in harm’s way, and you have promoted anti-Semitism throughout the world.
You have brought this to a people who have given the world the Ten Commandments and most laws we live by today. The Jewish people have given the world our greatest scientists and philosophers, and the cures for many diseases, and now you play a very dangerous game so you can look like a true martyr to what you see and say are the underdogs. But the underdogs you defend are murderers and criminals who want Israel eradicated.
You have brought to Arizona a civil war, once again defending the criminals and illegals, creating a meltdown for good, loyal, law-abiding citizens. Your destruction of this country may never be remedied, and we may never recover. I pray to God you stop, and I hope the people in this great country realize your agenda is not for the betterment of mankind, but for the betterment of your politics.
With heartfelt and deep concern for America and Israel,
Jon Voight
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.
Palestinians lodge criminal complaint against Israeli leaders in Belgian court
(WJC)–In Brussels, 14 Gaza-born Palestinians – one of them a Belgian citizen – have filed a criminal complaint against 14 current and former Israeli leaders for allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against Humanity during the 2008/09 Gaza war. The list includes Defense Minister Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Foreign Minister and current leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni.
Two Belgian attorneys representing the plaintiffs said the charges would be brought using the principle of universal jurisdiction and would focus on Israel’s bombing of a mosque in Gaza and the alleged use of phosphorus, during Israeli bombardments in January 2009. The controversial Goldstone report is used to back up the case against Israel. The plaintiffs said that they did not trust the Israeli court system, saying it was “not independent, reliable, or honest according to the criteria of international law”. A decision by the Belgian prosecutor on whether to pursue this case is expected in September.
Belgium’s law states that there must be a connection between the crimes and a Belgian citizen in order for the issue to be dealt with by Belgian courts. The law was changed after in 2001 a criminal complaint was lodged against then-Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon for his role in the 1982 massacre at the Shabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon.
Recently, Tzipi Livni came close to being arrested in Britain after Palestinian campaigners filed a request for an arrest warrant in a court in London. The British government pledged to changed the law allowing for universal jurisdiction in certain cases. Fears of facing legal action in Belgium also made Livni refrain from traveling there in 2009 when she was foreign minister.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress.
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