Some years ago, before email and text messages, I was following up on a meeting notice with a phone call to one of the invitees for a program we were holding that week. The responses had been slow in coming back, we had catering to order and did not want to have a small crowd for the guest speaker. I reminded the individual about the notice we had mailed, and that we had not received his RSVP yet. I also said that this was an important subject on B’nai B’rith’s agenda, and it was important for him to be there.

His response to me, before he gave his “yes” or “no” reply was, “Rhonda, you always say that everything is important.” I would have the same exchange today, maybe first by email, but I would have no problem saying what I said then: “Everything is important.”

It is important that we care about and advocate for the needs of refugees and vulnerable people impacted by extreme situations such as war that creates a humanitarian crisis, or a natural disaster that comes with little or no warning. Unfortunately, events in the world determine what is important one minute and not another.

Once the situation is no longer front-page news or the leading story on TV or in social media news feeds, the judgement of what is important is made by an editor or news producer, or by amplification of individuals on social media.

We think that the needs of refugees forced to flee Ukraine are as important today as the day the B’nai B’rith Disaster Relief Fund opened a fund-raising campaign in February when Russia invaded, to raise awareness and funds about the needs of those who are impacted by this attack. Our aid work goes beyond thinking about victims of disasters and supporting their needs long after headlines change. We are involved during the emergency situation and as it transitions to supporting recovery and rebuilding. It is all important.

It is important that we remember the victims of the Holocaust and learn as much as we can from the survivors and their families. We remind ourselves of that importance as we read the names of the victims aloud on Yom Hashoah and share the important thematic information that has been created by Yad Vashem for Unto Every Person There is a Name programs, to help show the enormity of this loss for the Jewish people. It is important that there will always be someone to remember them. It is important that scholars share their research and survivors share their stories so that education and awareness are incorporated into remembrance and memorials.

The lives of seniors are important to B’nai B’rith, whether they are residents of B’nai B’rith affordable housing or need B’nai B’rith’s advocacy on issues that are important to their economic and social wellbeing. This includes protecting Medicare, social security benefits, prescription drug prices, access to medication and transportation, to name just a few topics we focus on.

It is important that B’nai B’rith comment on attacks against Jews and Israel, whether the stinging words come from the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, or by a foreign diplomat, a politician at any government level or a celebrity. We make responding to anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism important.

We have also just created an essay contest to bring this important message to the next generation. The voices of students are an important component in the effort to speak out against hatred and violence. The winning essay will be showcased in B’nai B’rith Magazine and featured on our website and social media platforms. To learn more and bring this contest to your community or to someone you think has something to say, please visit here.

We know that the words of those 18-22 years old are vital to help us fight against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. We must ensure that the next generation understands the importance of advocacy to protect Israel and the Jewish people around the world.

So now, if everything is important, "what is important to you?” is up to you to decide. It’s up to you to determine what part of B’nai B’rith you find most important and what we call the “hot button” for an individual. You can be part of making sure that important work is done by being a B’nai B’rith member or supporter. The choice and options are wide open.

The Isadore Garsek Lodge of B'nai B'rith in Fort Worth, Texas honored the Colleyville Police Department for its role in saving those taken hostage at Congregation Beth Israel earlier this year. Police Chief Michael Miller, his assistant and the officers who were first to respond to the hostage situation were present.
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Eight Lodge members, including Fort Worth Lodge President Alex Nason, provided Colleyville police officers with food to show gratitude for the brave first responders, including salads, fruit plates, sweets and a main dish for 25 people prepared by Sophia Nason.

During the visit, Lodge President Nason spoke about B'nai B'rith International's mission to support those in need and the Isadore Garsek Lodge's commitment to the local Fort Worth-area community. In his own remarks, Police Chief Miller expressed his sincere appreciation for the Lodge's great work.

B’nai B’rith often notes the significance of dates on social media. On Jan. 6, 2022, B’nai B’rith commented on the meaning of the day, along with reporters, political analysists and historians. It was a sad anniversary, remembering the assault on the United States Capitol one year before. Many comments described the place with reverence and called it our nation’s Citadel of Democracy.

One that date, a year earlier, we saw the news coverage of that attack by a violent mob. The day is now remembered as a day of violence that assaulted the building, and the Capitol and D.C. Metro police who stood their ground to preserve and protect the location and all of the people inside. The attack was meant to stop the functioning of our democracy, as the agenda of Congress that day was to certify the November 2020 election.

Inside the Capitol there are statues and busts that honor important figures.  In the Capitol’s rotunda, treasured public servants are honored when they die, as they lie in state in the place where they worked or had an impact on our society. The nation honors them for their service to our country.  

The Capitol is more than just a place I see on the news. It is a building in the same city B’nai B’rith has its headquarters. It is the place where the advocacy that is done by B’nai B’rith takes place each and every day, focusing on issues that concern our organization.  I see it when I arrive at Union Station when travelling to the B’nai B’rith office.  

Being an advocate on important issues means that we make ourselves known as representatives of the Jewish people. Earlier this year, in an article in the Jerusalem Post, our CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin shared some of the issues on the legislative agenda this year. At that time, one of the pressing issues was the confirmation of Deborah Lipstadt for the position of the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. It had been stalled in the Senate and B’nai B’rith spoke out to press for the confirmation for months. As of this blog’s publication, the Senate hearing has taken place and we are awaiting the official confirmation. The position of the anti-Semitism special envoy is one that B’nai B’rith has advocated for since its inception, and we have had the honor of hearing from former special envoys at B’nai B’rith meetings.

A recent report by the B’nai B’rith Center for Senior Services points out efforts by B’nai B’rith to fight for the needs of seniors. This included support for legislation that includes funding for senior housing and the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda.

B’nai B’rith has had its world headquarters in Washington, D.C. since 1937. Inscribed on the building façade that B’nai B’rith owned on Rhode Island Avenue and then incorporated into its current space is the Hebrew inscription from Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of our Fathers, “The world stands on three principles, study, service and benevolence.” When you brand something into a building and carry these words wherever you go, you really mean it. This message has been a part of our mission for more than 178 years.

These words also describe the mission of our government—to study society and its problems and find solutions that serve the needs of the people, all while doing this with benevolence and care for the people it serves.  

Until Sept. 11, 2001, B’nai B’rith held the Unto Every Person There is a Name ceremony on the steps of the Capitol Building. Representatives of B’nai B’rith, led by the Chesapeake Bay Region, read the names of victims of the Holocaust aloud with the participation of government dignitaries.

Working at B’nai B’rith, I have been privileged to visit the Capitol for a number of events. One was a senate hearing about funding prostate cancer research. Advocates addressed the importance of awareness and funding research. B’nai B’rith was invited to attend because of our involvement in prostate cancer education and awareness as part of a national coalition on the subject. Our efforts to educate men and their families about this disease was introduced by Honorary President Kent Schiner, who as a prostate cancer survivor wanted to make sure that others had the advantage of knowing more about the research, diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Over the course of the project, B’nai B’rith provided its members, supporters and the community with educational programming materials. We heard from individuals around the world, thanking us for bringing this important information to their attention and credited it with helping them take an important step to review this disease with their doctors to save their life.  

B’nai B’rith also held several events and briefings at the Capitol for attendees of B’nai B’rith Policy Forums. Attendees at one gathering were addressed by Valerie Jarrett, an advisor in the Obama administration. I remember the process to come into the building, checking IDs, and the rush to provide names in advance to ensure security and entry for all into the building.  

I have heard my colleagues, who visit “the Hill” to attend meetings and speak with legislators on domestic and international issues as part of their work, describe the process we refer to as advocacy. It is a life’s work for many, representing our organization that has made advocacy a major pillar. B’nai B’rith leaders have attended special missions to Washington to meet with their representatives in Congress on issues that concern us.  

As a political science major in college, I took a course that brought my class to Washington, D.C. for a weeklong lesson about politics. This visit was planned to enhance the understanding of how government functioned. It took us beyond the books, into places such as the Capitol to observe Congress in action. I remember looking down from the gallery to see the chamber. Not part of the lesson plan, but a big thrill was when our paths crossed the filming of “All the President’s Men” when we visited the Kennedy Center. Somewhere in my college days memorabilia, I know there is a photo of one of the stars of the movie, Dustin Hoffman.
 
The Capitol will always be a special place for me. It is the place where, every day, people work to make the United States and the world the best it can be. How fortunate that B’nai B’rith can be a part of that noble endeavor. 

In December, B’nai B’rith held its annual Leadership Forum that provides a platform to hear from experts in the field on issues important to the Jewish community. During the course of the two-day conference, several speakers talked about anti-Semitism, noting that each year, the world loses more Holocaust survivors and how this impacts future generations who will never hear the firsthand experiences from these heroes. This disheartening statistic piqued my interest, and I started looking into how many survivors remain in the United States. Unfortunately, during the course of my research, I uncovered an even more depressing statistic. According to The Washington Post, around 33% of survivors in the United States live in poverty. It’s hard to fathom that there are people who survived the Holocaust and are now impoverished.

According to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany Executive Vice President Gregory Schneider, survivors lost family wealth during the Holocaust that was never returned. An overwhelming number of survivors after the war were impoverished and lost family, not affording them the luxury to save for retirement or inherit wealth. In addition, Schneider indicated that too many survivors have been unable to overcome other crippling hardships from the war, in particular the lost educational opportunities.

Additionally Masha Pearl, executive director of The Blue Card, a nonprofit Holocaust survivor organization, told Tribune Media Wire, “They tend to be very isolated, losing their families during the war and then either did not or could not have children.” Pearl said, “Many started working in menial jobs because they did not have the language skills. Today, they are in their 80s and 90s, and it is beyond difficult to make ends meet.”

Hanan Simhon, vice president of Holocaust Survivor Services at Selfhelp, pointed out that 80% of former Soviet Union survivors live in poverty because they came to the United States older in life, unable to benefit from Social Security and pensions. Furthermore, many survivors were victims of medical experiments conducted in the concentration camps that have elevated their risks for diseases, such as cancer.  

Given this problem, what is being done to change the trajectory?  First, the Claims Conference, a nonprofit organization that engages with Germany to provide survivors with compensation for suffering and losses as a result of the Holocaust, has secured about $90 billion since its inception in 1951. B’nai B’rith was a founding member organization of the Claims Conference and is pleased to have a seat on the board today. Currently, the Claims Conference’s financial resources are used to compensate survivors in the form of pensions or one-time payments and give organizations like Jewish Family Services (JFS) the funds they need to offer comprehensive social welfare services programs.  

For example, in New York, services like emergency financial assistance, home care and community-based programming, food deliveries, social events, minor home repairs and short-term counseling are provided by Selfhelp and/or Met Council, two nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable populations, including survivors that receive significant financial assistance from the Claims Conference for their activities to benefit survivors. During the pandemic, Met Council supplied grocery deliveries to survivors and other seniors, such as the residents of the B’nai B’rith Senior Housing building B’nai B’rith of Queens.    

In Tampa, Florida, Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services (GCJFCS) uses money given by the Claims Conference to assist survivors with home health care. The Tampa Bay Times reported this money allows people like Betty Goldberg, who spent the Holocaust hiding in the French countryside, to receive costly homecare. However, Marlene Wain, a case manager at GCJFCS, said it can be difficult ensuring survivors are aware of these resources. Consequently, Wain indicated they promote these opportunities in the Jewish press and synagogues.  

In 2022, the Claims Conference expects to allocate $282 million for social welfare services in the United States. Schneider said, “There is nothing more important to the Claims Conference than the care and wellbeing of Holocaust survivors – we continue to push for more year over year to provide the dignity for survivors that was stripped from them in their youth. The $282 million in funds for agencies in the U.S. this year is just one step, the care provided by caregivers through the agencies we support completes that circle and these agency partnerships are a critical part of our day-to-day work.”

It’s not just organizations connected to the Claims Conference that serve the survivor population. In Colorado, KAVOD (dignity in Hebrew) was created by John and Amy Israel Pregulman to help survivors with groceries, prescription drugs, home repairs, transportation and other emergency needs. John Pregulman told the Washington Post they started the nonprofit after he met a 94-year-old survivor who had minimal food in the fridge. “She wanted to give me something to eat, but when she opened her fridge, I could see that this lady didn’t have much of anything,” he said. “She told me her air conditioner had broken and she had to use her money for the month to fix it,” he recalled. “‘I’m used to being hungry,’ she said. ‘I’ll wait until my next (Social Security) check to buy groceries.’”

At B’nai B’rith, Project H.O.P.E. (Help Our People Everywhere) was created during the 1960s to provide food packages to low-income seniors, including survivors, during Passover. This was especially true during the 1960s and 70s, when there was a much larger survivor population. Rhonda Love, vice president of Programing at B’nai B’rith, said, “Providing Passover packages to Holocaust survivors has been an important part of Project H.O.P.E.’s history, and we are always pleased to help a group of people which has unfortunately endured so much tragedy.”

Learning about survivors living in poverty is heart breaking; the idea that we have elderly people who survived the Holocaust and are currently living in poverty is impossible to imagine. Sadly, the truth paints a different picture. Nonprofits have become a lifeline for the survivor community; I don’t even want to think about where this population would be without their invaluable efforts.   

The Holocaust is once again being trivialized in the name of the politics. On Wednesday, Ohio Congressman Warren Davidson compared COVID restrictions to the Nazis' treatment of Jews. "This has been done before. #DoNotComply," he tweeted.

The Congressman joins a long list of those reaching for the Holocaust for such cheap political points. In June, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene compared wearing a mask to wearing a yellow star and had to apologize. In November, Lara Logan compared Dr. Anthony Fauci to Joseph Mengele, the infamous Nazi doctor who did cruel experiments on Jews in concentration camps.

Across the globe, things are even worse; outright Holocaust denial is spreading like a virus. Earlier this week, outside a church in central Rome, a funeral concluded with a coffin draped in a Nazi flag, surrounded by participants giving Nazi salutes. In Iran, the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, often tweets things like "why is it a crime to raise doubts about the Holocaust?" and "#Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain." In 2019, right before attempting a mass-carnage attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, on Yom Kippur, a gunman livestreamed a video in which he said, "I think the Holocaust never happened."

​The Holocaust—the most documented and systematic genocide in history—took the lives of two-thirds of European Jews. Among our own family members, in Poland and Lithuania, most were wiped out: innocent men, women and children.

Of the Jews who managed to survive, all are now at least 77 years old, and thousands are dying each year. That trend has likely been accelerated by the ongoing pandemic. And if Holocaust-denial can persist even as first-hand witnesses to the atrocities are among us, we can only imagine how malignant these pathologies will become once the survivors pass on.

The correlation between denial of past atrocities and indifference to new atrocities is clear. Whether it comes from the extreme right or radical Islamists, antisemites uniquely belittle or justify the Holocaust while also belittling or justifying current and prospective violence against Jews.

​Of course, distortion or instrumentalization of the Holocaust is not new. Among white supremacists, denial of the Nazi gas chambers' existence has been an article of faith. Even in America, certain local legislators or educators were recently found to have urged "neutrality" in teaching about Nazism. In parts of the Baltics, the whitewashing and lionizing of Nazi collaborators has been commonplace. And through much of the Middle East, the Holocaust has long been tarred as a "Zionist myth" alongside a false narrative that Palestinians paid the price for Germans' misdeeds with the invention of a "colonial" Israel by foreigners.

And whether at the United Nations or street demonstrations, bigots wholly rejecting the history and legitimacy of a Jewish minority presence in the Middle East have sought to add insult to injury by weaponizing the Holocaust, saying Hitler hadn't gone far enough or that Israel is guilty of Nazi-like practices.

At a 2001 U.N. conference against racism in Durban, South Africa, activists asserted both. A decade later, Iran's president hosted Holocaust-denial conferences and cartoon competitions, attracting such luminaries as former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, a newfound champion of Palestinian nationalism.

A few years later, Malaysia's then-prime minister—a self-identified antisemite who had called Jews "hook-nosed" and said they "rule the world by proxy"—questioned the number of Holocaust victims. And during outbreaks of Hamas or Hezbollah hostilities with Israel, social media platforms have facilitated an unprecedented spread of hateful lies concerning Israelis, Jews and the Holocaust, with negligible intervention by those profiting from them.

Next week, the U.N. will have an opportunity to help more seriously address the scourge of historical revisionism. 15 years after the U.N. began marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a resolution on Holocaust-denial and distortion will come up for a vote. We hope member states will join in adopting an important working definition of Holocaust-denial, as well as, ultimately, an equally vital working definition of antisemitism.

​While combating trivialization of the Holocaust is only one element of strengthening basic societal norms, it is a critical one. Let it be said once more: those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Read the op-ed in Newsweek.