At the Jerusalem Bird Observatory: Banding and releasing a few of the millions of birds who fly over Israel

At the Jerusalem Bird Observatory: Banding and releasing a few of the millions of birds who fly through Israel as they migrate to destinations from Saudi Arabia to South Africa.

Volunteer bird bander at work. These identification bands will enable tracking of the birds in years to come as they migrate.

Arriving at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory - right next door to the Knesset! Who knew? What a gem!

Getting an overview on the volunteers, how the Observatory is run, and on the species that can be found here.

Lisa and Michelle enjoying the sun and a spot of tea at the Jerusalem Bird Observatory.

The flight path and where the birds stop along the way.

Michelle gets ready to release a banded bird.

Getting a briefing from Amir Balaban, co-director of the Jerusalem bird observatory and wildlife artist at SPNI.

500 million (yes, you heard that right) fly though Israel on their way to other destinations along the bird flight path.

Amir Balaban with one of the volunteer bird banders at work. Bird whisperers!

A private screening of Who Will Write Our History

A private screening of Who Will Write Our History - a riveting documentary based on the book by Samuel Kassow about Emanuel Ringelblum and the Oyneg Shabbes Archive. Hosted by Katahdin Productions, Match&Spark, and the World Jewish Congress.
http://whowillwriteourhistory.com/filmmakers.html

Renowned Polish actor Piotr Glowacki, center, played the role of Emanuel Ringelblum. He is flanked by Dr. Katja Wildermuth (left) and Ulrike Dotzer, both of NDR Fernsehen (Germany and EU). They flew in from Hamburg for the screening. — at Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.

Waiting for the screening to begin.

Add captionTeam POLIN! — with Bartek Dymarek.

POLIN Museum director Dariusz Stola, POLIN superstar and one of its founding fathers Marian Tursky and Development Director Marta Wrobel have a chat before the screening.

After the gut-wrenching, powerful screening it took a few minutes for the audience to get up the composure to ask questions. Post-screening panel discussion included producer Roberta Grossman, Jowita Budnik (role of Rachela Auerbach), author Samuel Kassow, Karolina Gruszka (as Judiita Ringelblum), and executive producer Nancy Spielberg. — at Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.

PTV time with Jolanta Gumula, Deputy Director of Programs. — at Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN.

From the 75th Commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Piotr Wislicki with Shana Penn and Sigmund Rolat.

One of the many reporters covering the event. Perfect weather brought out a huge crowd who came to remember and honor the victims and heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto.

With Fay Rosenfeld, Rita Meed,Samuel Norich and Steven Meed.

Hon. Ronald Lauder greeted the crowd on behalf of World Jewish Congress.http://www.news1130.com/2018/04/19/poland-marks-75th-anniversary-of-uprising-in-warsaw-ghetto/ — at Monument To The Heroes Of The Warsaw Ghetto.

Irene Pletka telling a compelling story in her Marek Edelman tee shirt and Ringelblum Archive milk can necklace.

People came by Jan Karski's monument to pay respect with daffodils.

With Rabbi Symcha Keller, a formidable collector of prewar Polish cantorial melodies. He ran the Lodz Gemina until his move to Lublin. I plan to check out his new CD. — at Monument To The Heroes Of The Warsaw Ghetto.

With Irene Pletka and Shana Penn. — atMonument To The Heroes Of The Warsaw Ghetto.

With Marek Kobiec of Wroclaw.

Having a stroll in POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews

POLIN distinguished benefactor, visionary, and founding father Sigmund Rolat speaks with Piotr Gliński, Poland’s deputy PM.

With Jonathan Ornstein. Thanks to Kasia Leonardi for taking the photo! Looking forward to doing Ride for the Living with the Ornstein Leonardis and friends this June!

A glorious night! 

POLIN Museum’s open air concert commemorating 

the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The event was attended by the top brass of Poland’s government, POLIN Museum’s leadership, Jewish leaders and groups from the United States and around the world, and throngs of local residents of Warsaw who came out on this beautiful night to help remember and celebrate the lives of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising fighters.

POLIN Museum Director Dariusz Stola addresses the audience. 

Irene Pletka (third from left) and Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka having a conversation with Poland’s Secretary of State Jaroslaw Sellin, of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Chazak V'Amatz: Bund, Hashomer Hatzair hold joint commemoration at site of Mila 18 in Warsaw

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‏חזק ואמץ!     Chazak V'Amatz!

The Bund/ Workmen’s Circle and Hashomer HaTzair held an emotional private joint memorial at the site of the Mila 18 monument. Earlier in the day, Hon. Ronald Lauder told an international crowd that this monument was not big enough. So noted! Fay Rosenfeld, Samuel Norich, Robbie Solway, Ann Toback, Irene Pletka, Michael Steinlauf and Steven Meed spoke so beautifully from the heart and from beyond the grave. If that’s all it would have been, Dayenu! It would have been enough. And if there was only the candle lighting at the monument that followed, Dayenu! It would have been enough. However, the most moving part of the presentation took place at the end, when the youngest members of the newest Hashomer HaTzair “Ken” in Warsaw, gave the traditional, generations-old cheer, the refrain that once resonated loud and proud in Warsaw and throughout Poland, Chazak v’Amatz! Chazak v’Amatz! CHAZAK V’AMATZ! Mostly in tears, all our voices joined the youngest. And PS - By way of this post I am asking Fay to add a link to the streamed video of this event.

Here's a link to the video of the ceremony on Facebook.

On the eve of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising 

It’s a beautiful spring evening. The air is clear and good, warm and pleasant. I'm walking back from POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, along the street that connects the past with the present: the Ghetto with Normal. 

I pass by people in the street, people on cell phones, people walking dogs. Cars are parked at their apartments, and you can see the flicker of television shows through the open windows, see the curtains flutter in the evening breeze on this beautiful night.

On the eve of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising I ask myself if its inmates ever felt normal. If it was possible to feel anything as mundane as a spring evening's breeze while you were watching your loved ones starving to death, and terror and chaos was everywhere. 

How could there be normal when you were deteriorating from one day to the next? From one beautiful spring night made by God and delivered to humanity to the next? How did you know if you were going to be the one chosen for survival - to live with the ghosts of your friends, loved ones and  community forever, never to have a peaceful moment, or if you were destined to be tortured and then murdered, or to be blessed with a quick death at the hands of a merciful Nazi criminal.

A diminishing number of American young adults don't know much about the Holocaust. The tides of time and memory are eroding. Even in this era of social media, the Cloud and the ability to retain unimaginable amounts of data, it seems the martyred are destined to be forgotten.  

On this beautiful spring night there are many people in this world who are blissfully ignorant.

As I stroll down the newly paved street in a city that has undergone tremendous renewal, I am thinking about that fateful night of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which happened under my feet, 75 years ago. 

Many people in this world get to walk around on a beautiful spring night like this oblivious to the story of the Holocaust. They are having dinner, or watching television, or skyping with friends, or having a beer. Are they the lucky ones - the Great Unburdened?

Or is it me, the child of Holocaust survivors, who is the lucky one?