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When you meet a Nazi at a gas station
“I’ve got a Nazi Iron Cross tattooed on my chest.”
We were chatting with a stranger across an unmanned gas pump, along an isolated road in rural east Texas. He had asked us, conversationally, what church we attended. This is a common conversation starter in this part of the world and did not surprise us. We’re Jewish so we attend synagogue, we replied, equally casually. That was when he told us that he had a swastika on his chest. He said it matter-of-factly, but there was a challenge in his eyes.
[Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How Should We Memorialize the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is in danger of being remembered as just another historical atrocity inflicted on the Jewish people. Traditionally, Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—has been a time to listen to survivors. Soon, we will no longer be able to sit and listen to them...
Coexist is not enough
Our holy books do not tell us to “tolerate the stranger.” They tell us to love them. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
When you meet a Nazi at a gas station
“I’ve got a Nazi Iron Cross tattooed on my chest.”
We were chatting with a stranger across an unmanned gas pump, along an isolated road in rural east Texas. He had asked us, conversationally, what church we attended. This is a common conversation starter in this part of the world and did not surprise us. We’re Jewish so we attend synagogue, we replied, equally casually. That was when he told us that he had a swastika on his chest. He said it matter-of-factly, but there was a challenge in his eyes.
[Redirects to the Times of Israel]
How Should We Memorialize the Holocaust?
The Holocaust is in danger of being remembered as just another historical atrocity inflicted on the Jewish people. Traditionally, Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—has been a time to listen to survivors. Soon, we will no longer be able to sit and listen to them...
Coexist is not enough
Our holy books do not tell us to “tolerate the stranger.” They tell us to love them. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Using Storytelling to Personalize Holocaust Education in the Classroom
Learning to be a Holocaust storyteller means learning to take a primary source such as testimony, memoir, or diary, and to retell the story told in that testimony in a compelling way. [Originally published in the Jewish Educator.]
Candle & Chronicle Newsletter September 2023
Teach the Shoah has been growing by leaps and bounds. We are excited to announce a major milestone in that growth: Teach the Shoah has convened its first official Board of Directors.
Hate has no community
We cannot allow terrorists to lay claim to the values of our communities. Once again, a terrorist has come into a place of peace and used community as a cover to commit an act of evil. In this case, he claimed to be working for the advancement of the white, Christian community. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Changing the narrative on slavery in America
If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that the story of slavery in America is often told by the perpetrators. Isn’t it time we started to listen to the voices of the victims? [redirects to the Times of Israel]
Pulling the Arc of the Moral Universe Toward Justice
How is it possible that we are still fighting racism, sexism, and antisemitism in this country? We thought we were the most forward-looking country in the world, a light unto the nations. We thought we had evolved beyond such destructive tribalism. We thought we could see the arc of the moral universe bending toward justice before our eyes.[1] We just had to sit back and let it happen.
That was our mistake. Bending toward justice does not happen when we sit back and watch. Even treading water requires effort and vigilance. [Redirects to the Times of Israel]
Candle & Chronicle Newsletter September 2023
Teach the Shoah has been growing by leaps and bounds. We are excited to announce a major milestone in that growth: Teach the Shoah has convened its first official Board of Directors.
Candle & Chronicle Newsletter May 2023
We are in the season of remembrance. From Passover to Yom HaShoah to Yom HaZikaron, we consider our history. As we reflect, we must also give thought to how that history is being taught in our schools.
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