Palm Beach Florida Weekly

Series focuses on antisemitism, the Holocaust



An image from the “No Child’s Play” exhibit. COURTESY PHOTO

An image from the “No Child’s Play” exhibit. COURTESY PHOTO

The Gross Family Center for the Study of Antisemitism and the Holocaust and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County recently announced the return of the Antisemitism and the Holocaust Speaker Series for the 2018-2019 season.

This adult education programming — which is free and open to the public — features prominent experts and international speakers.

The Gross Family Center added new elements for the upcoming speaker series, including two engaging exhibits: “No Child’s Play,” opening Oct. 28, and “Fashioning a Nation: German Identity and Industry,” on display Jan. 2-15.

Developed and curated by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial and Museum, “No Child’s Play” showcases the toys, games, artwork, diaries, and poems of children during the Holocaust. On loan from the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, the “Fashioning a Nation” exhibit explores the powerful history of German fashion from its international impact to its destruction by the Nazi regime. Both exhibits are free and open to the public and will be on display at the Mandel JCC Palm Beach Gardens, at 5221 Hood Road.

The speaker series will kick off with “Children of the Holocaust: Lessons from the Past to Preserve the Future” at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Mandel JCC in Palm Beach Gardens.

The Children of the Holocaust program features the following prominent experts: Dr. Irving Berkowitz, dean of academic affairs at Palm Beach State College, the son of Holocaust survivors, and a widely respected speaker and scholar of the Shoah; Dr. Marlene W. Yahalom, a child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors and director of education for the American Society for Yad Vashem; and Maureen Carter, an educator for more than 25 years who oversees Holocaust education for kindergartners through 12th-grade students for the School District of Palm Beach County. The program will feature a discussion, workshop and a guided tour and presentation of the “No Child’s Play” exhibit. The event is free and open to the public. Teachers are invited to participate in the program as a special professional development opportunity, presented by American Society for Yad Vashem and the School District of Palm Beach County. Teachers who complete the entire program will earn professional development credits.

“Education is necessary to ensure that the Holocaust is remembered and that antisemitism is not tolerated. Our goal is to educate and spark conversation about the issues that Jewish people around the world still face every day,” Lauren Gross, director of the Gross Family Center, said in a statement. “Last year, every event was at capacity; we are excited to collaborate again with Jewish Federation and the Mandel JCC to bring an impressive new and expanded schedule of experts and exhibits that will broaden discussions on these important issues.”

The season-long series also will feature discussions led by Dr. Peter Hayes, chair of the Academic Committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and author of “Why? Explaining the Holocaust”; Francine Klagsbrun, author of more than two dozen books, national articles and a regular columnist in The Jewish Week; Arthur S. Berger, veteran and former spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Israel and the State Department; Dr. Roger Ward, former president and CEO at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens; Avi Goldwasser, a child of Holocaust survivors, director and producer of documentary film “Hate Spaces,” and a co-founder and former executive director of the David Project, a pro-Israel advocacy group; Dina Gold, investigative journalist and author of “Stolen Legacy”; Melanie Phillips, a British journalist, author and regular panelist on BBC Radio.

Events will be held at the Palm Beach Gardens and Boynton Beach locations of the Mandel JCC of the Palm Beaches. The Mandel JCC Palm Beach Gardens is at 5221 Hood Road; the Mandel JCC Boynton Beach is at 8500 Jog Road.

For more information, contact Lauren Gross at grossl@optonline.net or 201-887- 0737.

To register, visit www.jewishpalmbeach.org/holocaustcenter or contact Melanie Goldsobel 561-242-6642 or melanie. goldsobel@jewishpalmbeach.org. ¦

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