The French Republic - In homage to the victims of racist and anti-Semitic persecution and of crimes against humanity committed under the de facto authority of the so-called "government of the French state" 1940-1944 ~ Never forget

I recently finished reading “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay.  The book was heartbreaking, shocking, riveting, and haunting.  I could not put this book down.  It is a book of historical fiction that weaves the tragic, shameful roundup by the French police in the Velodrome d’Hiver (Vel’d’ Hiv) on July 16, 1942, with the fictional story of Sarah, a Holocaust survivor.  Below is a summary from the back of the book:

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten-year-old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night.  Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard – their secret hiding place – and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released.

The book was inspired by research done by the author, Tatiana de Rosnay, that uncovered what happened on July 16, 1942.  De Rosnay, who was born and raised in France, was not taught about the great Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, which was not far from where she lived.  She found that the tragedy at Vel d’Hiv “seemed to be shrouded by some kind of taboo.”  Many people had never heard about what happened to the over 13,000 Jews that were arrested, including 4,000 children. Only approximately 800 returned.

It wasn’t until 1995 that French President Jacques Chirac apologized on behalf of his nation for the role that France played in the persecution of Jews and other victims of the German occupation. He said:

These black hours will stain our history for ever and are an injury to our past and our traditions. Yes, the criminal madness of the occupant was supported by the French, by the French state. Fifty-three years ago, on 16 July 1942, 450 policemen and gendarmes, French, under the authority of their leaders, obeyed the demands of the Nazis. That day, in the capital and the Paris region, nearly 10,000 Jewish men, women and children were arrested at home, in the early hours of the morning, and assembled at police stations…. France, home of the Enlightenment and the Rights of Man, land of welcome and asylum, France committed that day the irreparable. Breaking its word, it delivered those it protected to their executioners.

THE VELODROME D’HIVER

The Velodrome d’Hiver was a huge indoor bicycling racetrack and stadium that was used by the French police, under a decree by the Nazis, to mass arrest all Jews living in Paris on July 16 and 17, 1942.   According to records of the Préfecture de Police, 13,152 victims were arrested and held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver and the Drancy internment camp nearby, then shipped by railway transports to the Auschwitz concentration camp for extermination.

Although children under the age of 16 were to be spared arrest, this did not happen and children of all ages were rounded up.  Beginning at 4 am, the Jews were arrested.  Most of the adults were sent to an interment camp in Drancy.  Families with children were taken to the Velodrome d’hiver.  Conditions inside the Vel’ d’ Hiv were horrendous.  It had a glass roof, which made the stadium unbearably hot.  The windows were screwed shut.  There were ten lavatories, but five were sealed because there were windows in them.  The lavatories quickly because useless.  There was only one water tap.  There was little food and no place to sleep.  The overheated, overcrowded Vel’ d’ Hiv became a place of mounting panic, despair, desolation, horror, physical indignity, unbearable suffering, and death.  The prisoners were kept in these conditions for six days before they were herded into trains which brought them to the concentration camps.  Those who tried to escape were killed.  Others took their own lives.

The Vel’ d’Hiv was demolished in 1958.

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

Today, April 19, 2012 is Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Below are words spoken by Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor:

Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed.  Never shall I forget that smoke.  Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky.

Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me for all eternity of the desire to live.  Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.  Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never.

Auschwitz

My son, Daniel, 10, plays the saxophone in the band at Searingtown Elementary School in Albertson, NY.  He was selected to be in the chamber group, where the band and orchestra will be playing together.  One of the pieces they will be playing is “Nimrod.”

The day after the Passover/Easter break began, Mr. Stevens, Daniel’s band teacher, sent a two-part email to the students and parents.  The first part was a home study guide encouraging and guiding the kids on how to play the piece.

Below is the second part of the email sent by Mr. David Stevens:

…Now for an “all about me” story as it relates to this piece and WHY it means so much to me and WHY it should mean so much to ALL OF US.

During the Summer of 2010, my family escorted the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra on their eastern European tour.  Both my children played (Mikey age 11, horn and Leah age 14, flute).  We performed at beautiful locations in Salzburg, Budapest, Czech Republic, and even the mountain village of Zakopane, Poland.  The audiences we played for were very receptive and at times we felt like rock stars; it was truly special.  But one performance we did was so unforgettable it will stick in my heart and my throat forever.

You see, we took a tour of an infamous WWII concentration camp in Poland called “Auschwitz.”  It was at this place that over 65 years ago, over a million innocent people were put to death.  Families like ours were taken from their homes, their daily lives, from all over Europe, and put on trains that after days of travel, dropped them off at this awful place, the last place that they would ever see.

Well, we toured this dreadful place on a still overcast day.  Our tour guide was a man who lives in your very neighborhood of Herricks – Irving Roth, a Holocaust survivor.  Yes, he was taken to Auschwitz as a child and survived the ordeal to tell his horrific story.

After seeing the cells and other horrible things, we set up our orchestra at the memorial that was at the very end of the railroad tracks that delivered so many to their final destination.

The day was still and overcast and we performed some works but what will stick with me forever is when we performed Nimrod.  We had no audience, we simply sat in chairs set up like an orchestra at the very end of these railroad tracks and played for nobody.  Or nobody we could actually see.

On either end of this memorial were many many  birch trees.  They were planted very well spaced and evenly throughout, almost looking like 50+ foot tall soldiers at attention and completely still as they looked over the memorial and the entire camp.

We played Nimrod with a grief and sadness that had been building up over the past 3 hour tour.  As the orchestra faded into silence and Nimrod ended, and the conductor dropped his arms, there were no hands clapping, but many of the children, mine included, began to weep in the silence.  Then suddenly, a breeze whipped through those birch trees at exactly the time a real applause would happen. The leaves (over a million?) rattled together in the breeze creating a loud racket. It lasted as long as an applause for a beautiful performance would last, and without saying a word, we all felt that we had played for over one million lost innocent souls floating over this dreadful place looking for their real home.  We shared a mystical, out-this-world experience and none of us will ever be the same.

It was at this moment I knew that the power of music needs to be shared with everyone and that is why I share this story with you.  I hope that you can find the meaning of this piece for your own lives and that you can perform it in a way that will move people seen and people unseen.

Wow, that was so hard to write, but I’m glad I did.  Thank you for your hard work and PLEASE LISTEN TO NIMROD at LEAST 5 times over break.

Enjoy your holiday and please don’t be a stranger to your instrument – it truly is a portal to your soul, your spirit, your dreams, your happiness.

Musically Yours,

Mr. Stevens

Holocaust Remembrance Day is Thursday, April 19, 2012.  This blog post is in memory of my husband’s uncle, Arnold – a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and the Madjanek, Auschwitz, and Buchenwald concentration camps – and the millions of Jews who did not survive the Holocaust, and those who lived to tell the world about the worst atrocity in all mankind.

Searingtown Elementary School, Albertson, NY

My brother, Michael, and his kids, Pearl and Sky, came direct from Aruba before they returned to South Portland, Maine.  Below are some of my favorite photos of Pearl, 7, and my son Benjamin, 7, who enthusiastically helped me prepare for the Passover Seder.

Pearl and Ben make Matzah Crack(ers)

Ben and Pearl Make Matzah Balls

Matzah Balls!

Spreading the melted chocolate chips for the Matzah Crack(ers)

My brother, Michael, and Pearl, dipping the homemade macaroons in melted chocolate YUM!!!!

Pearl cuts the mushrooms for the ill-fated kugal

You have no idea how AWESOME the matzah crackers are!

How was your Passover?  Please let me know!

You MUST make this recipe!

• The first recipe that you MUST make is Matzah Crack(ers). I think it might be one of my favorite treats ever! A perfect combination of sweet and salty. My family agreed, too, and everyone kept eating piece after piece.
• The next awesome recipe is Jill Zarin’s macaroons. I never made macaroons before last year and these were pretty easy to make. They were more beautiful looking than the bakery macaroons, and tasted REALLY REALLY good!
• Lana wrote a blog post, Passover Recipes: Vegetarians, Vegan, Celiac, Dairy-Free and More! Last year, I bought all the ingredients for the Flourless Chocolate Cake, but I ran out of steam and time to make it, but this year, it’s on my list of things to make.
• I wrote an extensive article,  Symbolism of Miriam’s Cup, and it’s one of my favorite articles on the website. If you would like to learn more about Miriam and incorporate her cup of water into your Passover Seder, this is a great resource to learn about Miriam, why her cup is filled with water, and the importance of Moses’ sister in the story of Exodus.  There are also AMAZING pictures at the end of the article that are very moving.


AMAZING homemade chocolate dipped macaroons

• Last year, I wrote a blog post, Reflections of My Passover, AWESOME Recipes, and Spring is Here!
• If you want to add A LOT OF FUN to your Passover Seder, check out these funny Passover songs.
• My Passover Seder agenda – It helped me know what to do next (because we don’t read the entire Hagaddah) and I think my guests liked knowing what’s ahead and how long until the meal.

I hope everyone has a GREAT Passover!  Add a comment below and let me know your special holiday traditions and favorite recipes.

Jewish Greeting Card Artist, Nina Bonos

I always love meeting new artists! This year, at the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft in February, I met the incredibly talented artist, Nina Bonos.  Nina makes the most GORGEOUS Jewish greeting cards which include Chanukah cards, Rosh Hashanah cards, and cards that have paintings of Jewish teachings, holidays, and life cycle events such as Torah, Tikkun Olam, Israel, the Aleph Bet, and Jewish music.

Nina is inspired by the land of Israel and its bounty -  from landscapes both real and imagined. On the back of each card, Nina describes the inspiration for her artwork and the symbolism and meaning in the paintings. The rich, jewel-toned colors that she uses in her artwork beautifully adorn her collections of Jewish greeting cards.   See below for some descriptions that appear on the back of her cards.

Watercolor Jewish Greeting Cards by Nina Bonos

DOVE OVER SONOMA (shown below)
This original watercolor painting was transformed into a large banner for Congregation Shir Shalom in Sonoma, California.  In a shape reminiscent of the Ten Commandments, the dove of peace soars above vineyards and golden, rolling hills.  Pomegranates represent the Torah.  Grapevines become Hebrew letters for chai (to life!), a menorah, and shalom (peace).  Other symbols include: olive branches, grapes, Italian cypress trees and barns.

POMEGRANATES
According to biblical teachings, there are exactly 613 seeds within a pomegranate, corresponding to the number of mitzvot (commandments) prescribed in the Torah.  Hence, the pomegranate represents the Torah – the most important Jewish symbol.  The twin blue lines represent the a tallit (Prayer shawl) and the Israeli flag.  The sun and the crescent moon represent the change of seasons, the passage of time and L’dor v’dor – the passing of the Torah and Jewish knowledge from one generation to the next.

Nina Bonos’ Jewish greeting cards are $24 for a set of 8 cards and shipping is free.  Check out her entire collection at Watercolor Jewish Greeting Cards by Nina Bonos.  Nina’s cards would make a wonderful gift for a birthday or Mother’s Day, and, of course, they’re great to keep for yourself for Thank You cards to send out.  It is very special to receive such a beautiful card!

“Chai” is a special word in Judaism.  It means, “life” and is made up of two Hebrew letters – Chet and Yud.  In Hebrew, a number is assigned to each letter of the alphabet and Chet is 8 and Yud is 10, which totals 18.  This is why “18″ is a very meaningful number in the Jewish religion which means “life” or “luck.”   Although any gift would be appreciated by a Bar or Bat Mitzvah child, a cash gift in a multiple of $18 holds special meaning.

A common toast is, “L’Chaim!” which means, “To Life!”  And there is no better tribute to this word than the song, “L’Chaim” from Fiddler on the Roof.

Just last weekend, I saw an absolutely AMAZING performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” at Tilles Center on the campus of C.W. Post in Brookville, NY.  If you haven’t seen this show, you MUST see it!  It is a classic, with tunes that my mother and I were singing on the ride to the show – ‘Tradition,’ ‘Sunrise, Sunset,’ ‘Matchmaker,’ ‘If I Were a Rich Man,’ ‘Miracle of Miracles,’ and of course, the famous, “L’Chaim!”

The show takes place in Anatevka, Russia in 1905 at a time when men and women and the entire family and community had structured and expected roles.  At that time, a matchmaker set up marriages.  Tevye had four daughters and the matchmaker set his oldest, Tzeitel, up with Lazar Wolf, the widowed butcher, who was older than Tevye.  Tzeitel had other plans, and unbeknownst to her parents, was in love with Motel, the poor tailor, who she had known since they were kids.

Tevye reluctantly met with Lazar Wolf, because he really didn’t like him,  and agreed to the marriage.  The song, “L’Chaim” was sung after the marriage was agreed to.

I read a funny comment below this video on YouTube that said, “Any other Jews out there think this should be our Unofficial Anthem?”  I agree!!  Enjoy the video clip.

If you are looking to give a gift with “Chai” on it, check out our Chai gifts. Below are a few of my favorites.

My Grandma didn’t have much in the way of material possessions but she did have five children, so when my Grandma passed away, the process of dividing up her few things was very bittersweet. I hoped to get my precious matryoshka doll but I knew that my mom was the youngest in the family and that it might very well be passed down to someone else. I worried that I would no longer have it to admire and look at because for me it held so many wonderful memories.

Thankfully, I was lucky enough to receive the matryoshka doll that I loved so much, and today it means so much to me that I have it. For this reason, when Ayala Bar’s Classic Collection of Spring 2012 was released, my focus zoomed in on the adorable little matryoshka doll pendants, beautifully crafted with great attention to detail. Each of the three necklaces displays a different matryoshka with a unique facial expression, clothes, size, and necklace chain. The necklaces are so creative and bold yet with a very simple and delicate look to them, they are sure to become treasured pieces — just like my grandma’s matryoshka!

Doing some research into the symbolism of the dragonfly revealed that dragonflies are old and adaptive creatures and that their colors are the result of light reflecting off of their bodies. Symbolism ties the dragonfly to the inner light that we all possess and the light that we can reflect back into the world when we choose to. What an amazing thought! With this in mind it is so easy to understand what is energizing Ayala’s designs.

This season’s collection contains so many pieces of dragonfly jewelry, including dragonfly necklaces, bracelets and dragonfly earrings, that Ayala Bar simply must be smitten with the inspirational symbolism of this mystical summer insect!

This season, Ayala brings us her Classic Collection, Hip Collection and Radiance Collection and there are quite a few standout pieces! From the Ayala Bar Classic Collection, the Water Dance line is sumptuously saturated with beautiful blue water colors. Ayala heralds the spring and summer by dotting the collection with bees and dragonflies, and trendy silver feathers dangle whimsically from several of the pieces. The Citrus Blast I and  Citrus Blast II collection (see image above left) is bright and cheery combining melon tones with dashes of turquoise blue.

As always, the Ayala Bar Hip Collection is both bold, yet incredibly elegant! The fashion forward Paradiso line (see image right) introduces a tribal look that is so hot on the runways this season. The Creamsicle line (see image left) is also gorgeous, created with an array of feminine fabrics and embellishments in shades of creamy white. This line contains several large hanging Ayala Bar earrings which are perfect with spring and summer fashions.

Since Ayala’s Spring 2012 collection is so overflowing with symbolism and charm, I thought it was too much for just one blog post! Read my two new posts on Ayala Bar and the Symbolism of Dragonfly Jewelry as well as my post on the new Ayala Bar Matryoshka Jewelry.

Photo by Baz Ratner / Reuters file

It’s not because I just finished reading the amazing book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, a book about segregation in the South in the 60′s, that I’m outraged by the discrimination and segregation of women in Beit Shemesh, Israel, and Brooklyn, NY.  It’s because I read this book that I’m writing about it.

For months, I’ve been reading about the intolerance and segregation in Israel by the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) against women and other Jews.  In January, an 8 year-old girl was spit on because she wasn’t dressed modestly enough for the men in Beit Shemesh, although she was wearing long sleeves and a long skirt.   A few weeks later, an 8 year-old  boy from Ohio, who recently moved to Beit Shemesh with his family, had rocks thrown at him and was spit on by a group of five boys.  The father of the boy believes that the problem is the intolerance of “others” by  Haredi extremists.  This same boy was harassed by a Haredi man when he was walking his dog and was threatened that the dog would be killed because it was tameh (ritually impure).

The police in Beit Shemesh had to remove a sign, for the third time in one week, that ordered women to walk on the other side of the street.

In another despicable outrage, Tanya Rosenblit, who has been called the Jewish Rosa Parks, refused to move to the back of the bus, as ordered by a Haredi man.  Below is an excerpt from Haaretz:

December 18, 2011
A woman passenger on a public bus from Ashdod to Jerusalem Friday was told by an ultra-Orthodox male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes.

Tanya Rosenblit, who said she was dressed modestly, was traveling on Egged bus 451 to get to work in Jerusalem. She said a Haredi man, who boarded two stops after she did, refused to allow the driver to close the door after he saw Rosenblit. Rosenblit said the man called her a derogatory word for a non-Jewish woman, and told the driver it was his right to have her sit in the back and that he had paid to be able to do so.

The strange thing is, Haredi woman seem to think nothing is wrong with this segregation and subjugation.  According to a news report,  “A religious woman on the bus, who gave her name only as Bracha, said there was no humiliation in sitting in the rear.”   The justification of this poor treatment of women  is due to  a traditional edict to avoid sexual temptation (sexual temptation from an 8 year old in long sleeves!!??).   In the name of religion and righteousness, Haredi Jews believe that violence, protests, intolerance, and arrogance, is justified.

Thousands of miles away – far from the Middle East – I was relaxing and reading the New York Post on Sunday, January 22, 2012, when I saw  this big headline of a two page article, “A Jewish Civil War,” with a large photo of the inside of a bus  – a woman in the back; two men in the front – with the caption:

“In Brooklyn, a Jewish woman sits in the back of the bus.  The ultra-Orthodox have pushed for segregated transportation.”

WHAT????????!!!!!!????????????  YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!??? WOMEN IN THE BACK OF THE BUS  15 MILES AWAY FROM ME IN BROOKLYN?????

No way could this be true!!  I read with jaw-dropping shock the article by Ben Hirsch – not about segregation in the South in the 60′s, not about segregation on a bus in Israel, but about segregation in Brooklyn and upstate  New York, and the special treatment the ultra-Orthodox community gets from political strong-arming.  TODAY.  RIGHT NOW. Ben Hirsch  has been accused of being anti-Semitic for speaking out on issues like these:

•  Yiddish signs in the Hasidic village of New Square, New York remind men and women to walk on opposite sides of the street.
• A resident of New Square who dissented with the grand rabbi was set on fire during an attempt to burn down his house.
• On public buses that run between the Hasidic neighborhoods of Willliamsburg and Borough Park in Brooklyn, women have been instructed to sit in the rear of the bus.
• In Williamsburg, New York City workers had to remove signs that instructed women to move aside when they see a man approaching.
• In Midwood, Brooklyn, a wig shop was forced to close because the mannequin’s head was found to be too provocative.
• NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, both Jewish, were compared to Nazis and Russian czars, when Frieden wanted to warn the community of a health risk during a circumcision.  The warning was perceived as a threat to religious freedom and Frieden backed off.
• In 2010, the Hasidic community was able to get bike lanes removed from streets in their neighborhood to eliminate female cyclists in shorts and skirts from riding through their neighborhood.
• The publicly funded organization, Boro Park Shomrim, a private security patrol, maintains a list of suspected child molesters who they do not report to the police because, “the rabbis don’t let you.”
• In May 2011, an Agudath Israel spokesman instructed lawyers and mental-health professionals that reports of child sexual abuse must first be made to rabbis.  Only then, if the rabbis agree, should the police be notified.

Ben Hirsch ends his article with the following plea:

Woe unto anyone who dares criticize the rabbis.  I did so and was accused in print of being an anti-Semite….

The reality of Jewish demographics is no different here than in Israel – the ultra-Orthodox birth rate dwarfs that of the general Jewish community.  Thus, there is a real likelihood that this “Taliban Judaism” – that has women and men walking on different sides of the street and rabbis defending life-threatening practices – will in time become the dominant form of Judaism in the US.

But this is an issue for the broader Jewish community.  Silence is acquiescence.  It is incumbent upon major Jewish organizations and moderate Jews – and that includes moderate Orthodox Jews – to step up and condemn the creeping extremism of the ultra-Orthodox community.

The fact that these communities have been able to extract all sorts of special treatment has implications for the larger society.  If this group can get a health commissioner to back down, bike lanes removed, NYPD officials deferring to unsupervised security patrols, and most troubling of all, the DA to allow rabbis to handle sex-abuse cases – what might be next?…

And, when the strictly Orthodox rabbinic leadership’s conduct falls to levels so deplorable that they begin to tarnish the credibility and reputations of the communities they’re employed to serve, it becomes time to replace them.

And I don’t think it makes me an anti-Semite to say that I believe that time has come.

And I don’t think it makes me an anti-Semite to agree 100% with Ben Hirsh and to say with unequivocal conviction, that there is  no way in no religion and no culture and no country that there is any rationale that can justify any kind of segregation and special treatment against anyone anywhere.  No way.