Center Stage Summer 2025
The latest from the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem.
Polish Citizens and Institution Recognized for Preserving Jewish Heritage
Hebrew Diplomatic Club Meetings
B’nai B’rith World Center Presents 2025 Journalism Awards in Jerusalem
B’nai B’rith World Center Announces Special Citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations Through the Arts to be Presented to Composer Efi Netzer
B’nai B’rith Represented at WJC Plenary in Jerusalem
Cornerstone Laid for Jewish Rescuers Grove in Jerusalem
Murdered B’nai B’rith Leader Joseph Wybran Honored by Israeli Government
B’nai B’rith World Center Coordinates AHEPA Leadership Mission in Israel
Jewish Rescuers Heritage Center Opens at Kibbutz Hazorea
B’nai B’rith World Center and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Celebrate Heroism of Jewish Rescuers
B’nai B’rith Hosts Latin American Journalists Trip to Israel
B’nai B’rith Represented at Launch of Film on Gaza Hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal
Greek Embassy in Israel Marks Independence Day at Kibbutz Be’eri
B’nai B’rith Hosts German Filmmakers
B’nai B’rith Confers with Officials in Israel
B’nai B’rith Meets with New Greek Ambassador to Israel
Israel Philharmonic Founder Bronisław Huberman Recognized for His Heroism During the Holocaust at Special Concert
B’nai B’rith Meets with Opus Dei Jerusalem Vicar
B’nai B’rith World Center Hosts Noted Greek Journalist
Launch of Hotline for Released Hostages and Hostage Families
Bahá’í International Community Representative Visits B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest
Polish Citizens and Institution Recognized for Preserving Jewish Heritage
Three Polish citizens, along with the Association of the Museum of Białystok Jews, who have shown commitment to preserving Jewish heritage in Poland and cultivating Jewish-Polish relations, were recognized by B’nai B’rith on June 29 at a ceremony at the White Stork Synagogue in Wrocław. The award, in its third consecutive year, is called Wdzięczność-Gratitude-הכרת הטוב in Polish, English and Hebrew.
This year’s award recipients are Robert Kobylarczyk, Andrzej Koraszewski and Ireneusz Socha in the Individual category and the Association of the Museum of Białystok Jews in the Institutional category.
Robert Kobylarczyk initiated a project to commemorate the Jewish cemetery in Tuszyn in 2020. With support from donors, he successfully raised funds to sponsor a five-ton commemorative stone. Andrzej Koraszewski has worked tirelessly for years to combat anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli stereotypes through his writing, website and journalism, most notably in his 2023 book that challenges harmful stereotypes about Jews and Palestinians. Ireneusz Socha has single-handedly dedicated his life to restoring the memory of Dębica’s Jewish community by documenting family stories, organizing educational events and commemorations, creating a Jewish heritage trail, and leading the successful effort to save and restore the New Town Synagogue as a cultural center.
The Association of the Museum of Bialystok Jews created and operates “THE PLACE” museum to preserve and promote the rich Jewish cultural heritage of Białystok through exhibitions, educational programs, research activities and collection of historical artifacts while strengthening Polish-Jewish relations.
The award was presented in honor of Marian Turski (1926-2025), a Polish-Jewish journalist, historian, Holocaust survivor and a member of the B’nai B’rith Poland lodge.
B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin spoke of the significance of the award: “We are the only international Jewish organization to take up this mantle and we are proud to do so in the ancient Jewish tradition of Hakarat Hatov—giving credit where credit is due. The three individuals and one association who will be recognized today will join past winners as outstanding examples of Poles who recognize the tremendous contribution Jews have made to your country and the imperative of keeping alive the embers of what was a flourishing Jewish community until the Holocaust.”
In his remarks, read at the ceremony by Professor Jerzy Ludy on his behalf, Koraszewski detailed his support of Israel’s right to defend itself and how he and his wife have used their website to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israel stereotypes: “We try to show the industry of lies, the manipulations of the mainstream media, the infatuation with anti-Zionist propaganda of universities, the hidden influence of Islamic anti-Semitism that destroys the humanity of the youngest generation. We are aware that in the end we convince the convinced, because others do not look for such places just in case. The effectiveness of our actions is, to put it mildly, limited—this action is probably more necessary for us than for anyone else.”
Also addressing the event, B’nai B’rith Senior International Vice President Jacobo Wolkowicz, who was born in Łódź in 1945 and escaped Poland with his immediate family, described the indelible effect the Holocaust had on his personal history, noting that he had not visited the country until today.
“The Gratitude Award was established with the knowledge that many Poles are diligently working to preserve the remnant of the vast Jewish heritage in their country, left dormant, in so many cases, due to the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis,” said Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, who serves as the award secretariat. “These dedicated people recognize the significant contribution made to Poland by its Jewish citizens in so many walks of life and in defense of the country for over 1,000 years and strive in different ways to ensure that it not be forgotten—in some cases on a local level and in others on a national level.”
B’nai B’rith has been active in independent Poland since 1923. Four B’nai B’rith lodges established at the end of the 19th century out of the 103 lodges in Germany at the time operated in Breslau/ Wrocław until 1937 when they were all shuttered and nationalized by the Nazis in the regime’s first repressive step against the Jewish community.
Members of the award committee are: Professor Andrzej Friedman, president, and Dr. Sergiusz Kowalski, former president and mentor of the B’nai B’rith Warsaw Lodge; Mariaschin; Lili Haber, chair, Association of Cracowians in Israel; Professor Adam Daniel Rotfeld, former Foreign Minister of Poland; Rabbi Eric Fusfield, deputy director, International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy and director of Legislative Affairs, B’nai B’rith International; and Schneider.
Presented for the third consecutive year, it represents the first annual award established by the global Jewish community to honor Poles for their contribution to dialogue and preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland and Jewish-Polish relations. Last year’s winners were Professor Łukasz Tomasz Sroka in the Individual category and the Brama (Gate) Cukermana Foundation in the Institutional category.
To read more about the recipients, click here.
Hebrew Diplomatic Club Meetings
The Hebrew Diplomatic Club – established by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem in April 2023 as an informal forum for Hebrew-speaking foreign diplomats stationed in Israel – held its ninth meeting on June 5 at the headquarters of Elbit Systems in Haifa.
Representatives from the embassies of the Netherlands, South Sudan, Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Czechia and South Korea participated in the meeting that included a detailed presentation by Gil Maoz, Senior Vice President for Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions and a tour of the visitors center of the company’s airborne division. Elbit Systems – Israel’s largest defense contractor with $6.8b in sales in 2024 – part of Israel’s record of $15b in total defense sales in 2024 – employs 14,000 workers in Israel (the country’s largest private employer) and 20,000 worldwide, with many offshore subsidiaries and locally-registered companies in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. It is rated 22 among the top defense companies internationally. Maoz presented Elbit’s unique attributes, including an unprecedented array of developments for land, air and naval forces.
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The club’s eighth session was held on May 8 at the newly-opened Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem. The striking 350,000 square-foot complex, inspired by the format of archaeological excavations, extends 10 stories below ground and includes state-of-the-art research and preservation laboratories. Representatives of the embassies of Croatia, Japan, Greece, Panama and Romania along with former Israeli ambassadors and World Center board members attended the program. The session included an address by Amit Re’em, head archaeologist, IAA Jerusalem District on “The IAA – Its work, its mission and the task of balancing preservation and development,” a tour of the campus with IAA Education Department head Daniel Weinberger and a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls laboratory led by lab head Joe Uziel. In his address, Re’em noted that “IAA has historical responsibility, and that is the source of our authority and trust we have among Jews and non-Jews alike in Israel. We serve as ambassadors for the State of Israel and are able to do so because we are balanced.” The Club convened on February 14 for the seventh time for a session focused on the World Zionist Organization (established by Theodor Herzl in 1898) and the National Institutions. The meeting—attended by diplomats from Moldova, Vietnam, Romania and Czechia—included a visit to the Herzl Museum, a wreaths laying ceremony at the grave of Theodor Herzl in the National Cemetery’s Great Leaders of the Nation section and a tour of WZO’s historic headquarters. The session concluded with a presentation by WZO Chairman Yaakov Hagoel who noted the WZO’s historic role in founding the State of Israel, facilitating aliya and responding to ongoing challenges—including the Oct. 7 massacre.
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B'nai B'rith World Center Presents 2025 Journalism Awards in Jerusalem
Winner: Yuna Leibzon (Channel 12 News)
Certificate of Merit: Roi Kais (Kan 11), Avital Indig (Makor Rishon)
Musician Efi Netzer Receives Special Citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations Through the Arts
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem held its 33rd annual Recognizing Excellence in Diaspora Reportage Award for Journalism ceremony yesterday in Jerusalem, recognizing excellence in reportage on the Jewish diaspora and Israel-diaspora relations in Israeli media.
Yuna Leibzon, a news correspondent for Channel 12 News, received the award in recognition of her series of articles on the Jewish community in the United States and her consistent coverage of U.S. Jewry, anti-Semitism and—since Oct. 7th—the surge in anti-Semitism in the United States.
Certificates of Merits were awarded to Roi Kais of Kan 11 for his series on Jewish communities in Arab countries and Avital Indig of Makor Rishon for her series on New York’s Jewish community.
A special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts in Memory of Naomi Shemer was presented to musician and composer Efi Netzer. The citation, established in 2014, has been presented previously to the following outstanding Israeli artists and ensembles: Nurit Hirsh, David D’Or, Idan Raichel, David Broza, Yehoram Gaon, Shalva Band, Danny Sanderson, Shuli Natan, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Ilanit. Netzer, who has composed 800 songs over a career spanning more than 70 years, was feted for the strong relationships he formed with Diaspora communities including an appearance in Teheran in 1967 following the Six-Day War. Netzer also taught Hebrew songs to Jewish communities in the Soviet Union in the 1970s over The Voice of Israel’s Diaspora service and performed to Jewish audiences in Spain, the U.S., Mexico, Venezuela, Poland and England. “I do not deserve a prize for what I did,” Netzer said during the ceremony. “The prize was the fact that I could travel and meet these dear Jews. Everywhere I went, I felt that they were my brothers. It was a great pleasure to feel that I was an emissary bringing Eretz Israel to them.”
The ceremony concluded with a spirited discussion between Zvika Klein, editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post and Leibzon on press freedom in Israel.
Since its establishment in 1992, the B’nai B’rith World Center Award for Journalism has recognized excellence in reporting on contemporary Diaspora Jewish communities and on the state of Israel-Diaspora relations in Israeli print, broadcast and online media. The award is widely recognized as the most prestigious prize in the Israeli media industry for Diaspora reportage and was established to help strengthen the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. The award highlights the important contributions the media can make toward strengthening the relationship between Israel and world Jewry by encouraging quality reporting on Diaspora communities and Israel-Diaspora relations.
The distinguished members of the award jury include Dr. Yehudith Auerbach, former head of the Department of Journalism and Communication Studies, Bar Ilan University; Yaron Deckel, a previous Diaspora Reportage Award winner and regional director for the Canadian Jewish Agency for Israel; Professor Uzi Rebhun, Shlomo Argov chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations and head of the Division of Jewish Demography & Statistics, The A. Harman Research Institute of Contemporary Jewry director, Florence Melton Institute, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Professor Gabriela Shalev, former Israel ambassador to the United Nations; Journalist Yair Sheleg; and Asher Weill, publisher and editor of “Ariel,” The Israel Review of Arts and Letters (1981-2003).
The award is presented in memory of the late Wolf Matsdorf, editor of the World Center’s journal “Leadership Briefing” and a journalist in Israel and Australia, and his wife Hilda, a pioneer in social work in both countries, and in memory of Luis and Trudi Schydlowsky.
The full ceremony can be viewed here (in Hebrew).
Watch speeches from the ceremony in Hebrew.
Watch speeches from the ceremony in English.
B'nai B'rith World Center Announces Special Citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations Through the Arts to be Presented to Composer Efi Netzer
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem announced that musician and composer Efi Netzer will receive its special citation for Fostering Israel-Diaspora Relations through the Arts in Memory of Naomi Shemer. Composer and songwriter Efi Netzer, 90, has shaped Israel’s musical landscape for seven decades. Netzer originated the sing-along phenomenon in Israel and transformed it into a cultural bridge connecting Israel with Jewish communities worldwide. His contributions include creating the vocal ensemble model and introducing it to global Jewry, making him a unifying figure between Israel and the diaspora. In 1967, Netzer performed in Tehran in front of Jews and Israelis, presenting the words “A Night of Roses” in Persian letters. In the 1970s, he taught songs on Kol Israel’s broadcasts to the Diaspora, becoming known to Soviet immigrants before they even set foot in Israel. |
B’nai B’rith Represented at WJC Plenary in Jerusalem
| B’nai B’rith was represented at the 17th plenary of the World Jewish Congress, which convened on May 18-20 in Jerusalem, by a three-member delegation: B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Dr. Haim V. Katz, Executive Board Member Nachliel Dison and Director Alan Schneider. Delegates from 72 countries and affiliate organizations representing some 99% of world Jewry—including B’nai B’rith—attended the plenary. The body elected new WJC officers and passed a draft of policy resolutions on a range of issues, including support for Israel, recognition of Zionism as integral to Jewish identity, establishing a task force on Islamic extremism, combating hate and promoting the positive use of technology, safeguarding Holocaust memory, strengthening Jewish unity, enhancing both Israel-Diaspora and Jewish-Catholic relations. The plenary also set WJC strategic priorities for the 2025-2029 period. Plenary sessions covered contemporary anti-Semitism, building resilience after Oct. 7, responding to online hate, Israel and global Jewish advocacy, and future leadership. Key speakers included President of Israel Isaac Herzog, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who said that the Israeli government always considers the impact of its actions on diaspora communities: “The fuel of anti-Semitism today is the hope to eliminate the State of Israel. It is tempting to give up on principle for popularity, as Israel did when it retreated unilaterally from Gaza, allowing the establishment of a terror empire. Countries with colonial pasts should know that Jews are a proud people that will not accept dictates about its national security. Israel confronts the consequences and cannot afford to make another mistake.” The plenary ended with a session on Israeli hostages still held in Gaza and the victims of Hamas’ terrorist rampage on Simchat Torah in 2023. |
Cornerstone Laid for Jewish Rescuers Grove in Jerusalem
In a joint project, the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) and the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem laid the cornerstone on May 14 for a new forest grove that will memorialize the heroism of Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust. The grove, located near Yad Vashem—The World Holocaust Remembrance Center on Memorial Mountain (Har HaZikaron), will include 36 stone pillars—evocating the 36 righteous— engraved with the names of all 658 recipients of the Jewish Rescuers Citation to date, along with select rescue stories. The Jewish Rescuers Citation has been presented since 2011 by the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust.
During the ceremony, a time capsule was placed into the ground and a commemorative sign was unveiled. KKL-JNF Chair Ifat Ovadia-Luski remarked at the event that, “In the darkest period of the twentieth century, when Europe was burning and the Jews were in constant danger of extermination, social conventions were shaken and solidarity weakened in Jewish society. At the same time, many Jews risked their lives and even sacrificed themselves to save other Jews. In establishing the Jewish Rescuers’ Grove together with the global B’nai B’rith organization, we honor the heroism of those who rescued their brothers and sisters by planting roots of memory and appreciation that will convey a message of heroism and courage to future generations. The carefully designed site will present the stories of the Jewish rescuers, which we will weave into the renewed landscape of Jerusalem.”
Other speakers included B’nai B’rith World Center Chairman Dr. Haim V. Katz, member of the KKL-JNF Board of Directors; Aryeh Barnea, chairman of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust; and Holocaust survivor and architect Prof. David Cassuto, son of Jewish rescuer Rabbi Nathan Cassuto—all of whom are members of the B’nai B’rith team that has been collaborating with KKL-JNF on the establishment of the site. Following the ceremony, B’nai B’rith World Center Director Alan Schneider, who initiated the project nearly 10 years ago, said that “B’nai B’rith is proud that its initiative to establish a site in collaboration with KKL-JNF to commemorate the heroism and legacy of Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust is underway. The grove complements a previous joint project by B’nai B’rith and KKL-JNF—the Martyrs Forest—the first and largest site in the world to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. The heroes who will be commemorated in the grove were not backed by a state or army, but only the Jewish and human commitment to provide help to others at a critical and dangerous time. All of them—and others we will discover—risked their lives; some paid for it with their lives. They teach us an important chapter in Jewish heroism that is being relived again these very days.”
Murdered B’nai B’rith Leader Joseph Wybran Honored by Israeli Government
The late Joseph Wybran—Holocaust survivor, president of the B’nai B’rith lodge in Brussels and president of the Coordinating Council of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB) when he was brutally murdered on Oct. 3, 1989, in the parking lot of the Erasmus Hospital where he worked as a world-renowned hematologist—was the first person to be honored by the government of Israel, the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization under new legislation that officially recognizes Diaspora Jews killed in anti-Semitic attacks outside Israel.
This category of victim had not previously been officially acknowledged by the Israeli government and the inaugural event was held symbolically on April 28 just one day before Israel’s Memorial Day. Wybran is one of 250 victims who have been approved for recognition by a special committee under the new law.
Members of the committee include Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Yaakov Hagoel; Jewish Agency Secretary General Josh Schwartz; Diaspora Ministry Director General Avi Cohen Scali; and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider.
Wybran’s widow, Emmy, was the first representative of five victims murdered in Wales, France and Belgium to be presented with a certificate and letter by Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Anti-Semitism Amichai Chikli; Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog, chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive; and Hagoel. Chikli has also sent a letter to Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever urging him to block the repatriation of Wybran’s convicted murderer and reopen the case. Read the full letter here.
All of the victim’s representatives who participated in the ceremony immigrated to Israel following the deadly incidents.
“This is a historic event,” Chikli said, “After the terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing wave of anti-Semitic violence around the world, it is clearer than ever that the attack was aimed at the entire Jewish people that is engaged in a struggle for legitimacy and the right to identify with the State of Israel.”
Almog said, “This recognition is a correction to the past situation in which victims of this category were not officially recognized. This recognition brings hearts together in Israel and the Jewish world and illustrates Israel’s responsibility for Jews around the world.” Almog—who has lost seven family members in terrorist attacks in Israel—added that “your presence illustrates that we are tied to their legacy—a determination, founded on great pain and sense of loss—to create an exemplary society. Our unity is more important than ever.”
Hagoel—who pushed the legislation through numerous hurdles—said that it strengthens the notion that Israel is the home of all the Jewish People. Following the ceremony, Emmy Wybran, Schneider; Jacques Heller, former president of B’nai B’rith in Belgium and close friend of Dr. Wybran, and B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, met with Belgian MP Sam van Rooy to discuss the release of Wybran’s convicted murderer, Abdelkader Belliraj, on March 30, by King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Belliraj, a dual Belgian/Moroccan citizen who was convicted of having led a team of terrorists affiliated with the Abu Nidal terrorist group, had served 17 years of a life sentence (later commuted to 25 years) on charges related to a plot to overthrow the monarchy, collusion with Al-Qaeda and six murders in Belgium, including Wybran and the Grand Mufti of Brussels. Van Rooy pledged to support B’nai B’rith’s appeal to the prime minister of Belgium that Belliraj be prevented from returning to Belgium and to expel him if he has already entered the country.
Mariaschin and Schneider also met with Belgian Ambassador to Israel Stefaan Thijs to urge his government to prevent the return of Belliraj, as well as issues relating to Israel’s ongoing defensive war against Hamas in Gaza.
B’nai B’rith World Center Coordinates AHEPA Leadership Mission in Israel
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem coordinated a five-member leadership mission from the American-Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA)—the largest Greek diaspora organization with members around the world to Israel. The solidarity mission—lead by Supreme President Savas Tsivicos and Executive Director Basil Mossaidis came to Israel after spending Easter in Istanbul with the small remaining Greek Orthodox community there, in a show of solidarity. The group’s itinerary included briefings at the IDF Spokesman’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as meetings with MK Boaz Bismuth, a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and Greek ambassador Maya Solomou. They also toured evacuated kibbutz Kfar Aza, were briefed by heads of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS) and attended Holocaust commemoration events at Yad Vashem and the B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest. B’nai B’rith has maintained a long relationship with AHEPA, having engaged in joint missions to Israel, Greece and Cyprus for six consecutive years until the Corona pandemic, in an effort to support improved relations between the three countries.
Jewish Rescuers Heritage Center Opens at Kibbutz Hazorea
The world’s first museum dedicated to telling the story of Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust opened on Friday, April 25 in Kibbutz Hazora in Israel’s Jezreel Valley, in cooperation with the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem. The Jewish Rescuers Heritage Center was established as an annex of the long-existing Wilfrid Israel Museum of Oriental Art and Studies that opened in 1951, based on a collection of Asian art bequeathed by Wilfrid Israel—scion of a prominent German Jewish family that owned the largest department store in pre-WWII Berlin—in his will to the Kibbutz.
Israel was one of the earliest Jewish rescuers, having endangered himself to save the lives of his many Jewish employees, paying ransom for some to be released from incarceration in concentration camps. Israel also led the establishment of Aliyat Ha’noar just prior to the rise of the Nazis to power and of the Kindertransport following Kristallnacht—two enterprises that saved thousands of lives of young Jews in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria. In March 1943, Israel was sent by the Jewish Agency to Portugal and Spain to plan an escape route for Jews from occupied Europe.
He was killed on June 1, 1943 when his plane was shot down by a German aircraft while traveling back to London along with actor Leslie Howard who was serving as an intelligence officer in the British Army. The exhibit in the new center, entitled “Life Lines,” showcases the story of nine diverse rescuers—including Wilfred Israel—to illustrate the phenomenon of Jewish rescue in Germany and Nazi-allied Europe and North Africa. The Center will eventually tell the stories of all 650 Jewish rescuers recognized with the “Jewish Rescuers Citation,” presented since 2011 by the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust. Speakers at the inaugural event included rescuers Fanny Ben-Ami and David Gur, World Center Director Alan Schneider and Committee chairman Aryeh Barnea.
B'nai B'rith World Center and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael Celebrate Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During Holocaust with Freed Hostage Luis Har and Ambassadors of the United States and Hungary
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) held on April 24, for the 23rd consecutive year, a joint Holocaust commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah). This is the only Yom HaShoah event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jews who endangered their own lives to rescue fellow Jews during the Holocaust. The ceremony took place at the B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest “Scroll of Fire” Plaza at 10 a.m. Israel time, with an overflow crowd of some 800 people in attendance.
The B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest is the world’s largest Holocaust memorial and the most significant joint B’nai B’rith–KKL-JNF project, memorializing the victims of the Holocaust with six million trees planted on 4,500 acres in the picturesque Jerusalem mountains near Moshav Kesalon. At the pinnacle of the forest stands the “Scroll of Fire,” created by renowned sculptor Nathan Rapoport, which invokes the destruction of the Jewish people in the Holocaust and its revival in the State of Israel.
Speaking at the ceremony, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in his first speech since presenting credentials to President Isaac Herzog earlier this week, “The ceremony today is a beautiful reminder that God has been at work in this land; prophecies have been fulfilled—dry bones live again and the desert blooms…From the beginning of time, God had a people, and he had a place and he had a purpose. The Jewish people are those people; this is the place, and the purpose is to be His light and his presence in this world. I come today with an extraordinary sense of awe and wonder of the resilience of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Nothing less than a miracle.” Huckabee added, “I do not understand anti-Semitism or the hatred that history has inflicted upon the Jewish people. The animosity toward them makes no sense; it is irrational, baseless, and directed at those who have done no wrong. I come today not as a Jew, but as one who believes in ‘The Book,’ and I believe that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse Israel will be cursed. I come to bring blessing, and I stand not behind you, but with you—because you are everything we hope the world will be.”
Amb. Zoltán Szentgyörgyi, ambassador of Hungary to Israel, said that the bravery of the Jewish rescuers who risked their lives to save others challenges the false narrative that Jews were only victims—they were also resisters, rescuers, fighters and protectors. Their legacy stands as a testament to integrity and moral courage in the face of absolute evil…But remembrance must also be paired with responsibility—not only individual, but national. Hungary, like all nations, carries the burden of confronting its past. There were times in our history—including during the Holocaust and the Second World War—when the state failed to protect all its citizens. That failure has left wounds we must continue to acknowledge and address. Today, there is a clear and unequivocal understanding that the state has a moral and political obligation to safeguard every one of its citizens, regardless of their origin, religion, or background. Discrimination, anti-Semitism and humiliation have no place in a just society, and cannot be tolerated. Confronting the crimes of the 20th century is not just a historical task, but a living responsibility—one that defines the kind of country we aspire to be.”
Reflecting on Hungarian citizen Omri Miran who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and remains in captivity, Szentgyörgyi said that “as we reflect on the past, we are also painfully reminded that the work of remembrance, vigilance and protection is not over…Never again” must not become an empty phrase we utter once a year. It must be a living commitment—one that obliges us to stand against terror, to speak out against anti-Semitism wherever it emerges and to fight for the safety and dignity of every human being.
Luis Har, who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, and released in a daring IDF military operation after 129 days in captivity, said, “How much our people suffered throughout the generations, and yet we are here. This is wisdom in the fact that when we are truly together, we are capable of anything, despite it all. We never lost hope and we always knew that the Jewish people don’t leave anyone behind. What kept us going in captivity was our faith, the knowledge that we would come out. The very fact that I am here is proof of that.” He called for all the remaining 59 hostages—living and dead—to be rescued. “I ask everyone to be a united and special people—and to save them all.”
Other speakers included Mira Zar of KKL-JNF; Haim Katz, chairman, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem; and Brigadier General Barak Mordechai, Border Police training base commander. Holocaust historian Professor Patrick Henry (editor, Jewish Resistance Against the Nazis, Catholic University Press, 2014) lit the memorial flame.
During the ceremony, the “Jewish Rescuers Citation” was conferred posthumously on 14 rescuers who operated in France, Hungary, Libya, Holland and Poland. The citation—a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers during the Holocaust—has recognized 658 heroes since its inception in 2011 in an effort to help correct the generally held misconception that Jews failed to come to the aid of fellow Jews during the Holocaust. Past rescuers have operated across numerous countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, Slovakia, Greece, Russia, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Austria, Belarus, Italy, Poland, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Hungary, Denmark, Czechia, Lithuania and Belgium.
The phenomena of Jewish rescue and the inspiring stories of many hundreds of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe from deportation and murder have yet to be fully researched and receive appropriate public attention. Many who could have tried to flee or hide themselves decided to stay, which exposed them to danger as they endeavored to rescue others; some paid for it with their lives. With great heroism, Jews in Germany and every country across Axis and occupied Europe employed subterfuge, forgery, smuggling, concealment and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust or assisted them in escaping to a safe haven. In doing so, they foiled the Nazi goal of total annihilation of the Jews.
Click here to read more about recipients of this year’s Jewish Rescuers Citation.
Press coverage:
B’nai B’rith Hosts Latin American Journalists Trip to Israel
B’nai B’rith hosted journalists from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Costa Rica in Israel for a firsthand look at the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. At Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a young survivor shared his story of the killings, kidnappings and devastation his community endured. The journalists visited the lot where burned cars and vans stand quietly as stark reminders of the violence. At the site of the Nova music festival, they heard from a survivor who recounted how he managed to escape, saving his own life and his wife’s life as well.
On day two of their visit to Israel, the group of journalists met Itzik Horn at the Tel Aviv headquarters for the families of Israeli hostages. Horn is the father of two sons kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz—one was released two months ago, the other remains in captivity.
The group visited Hostages and Missing Families Square, then spent two hours at Yad Vashem.
They also visited the Knesset and met with MK Simcha Rothman, chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and co-chair of the Land of Israel Caucus.
On day three of their visit to Israel, the journalists spent the morning at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, meeting with Ambassador Mattanya Cohen, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau, Alex Sandler, Spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Jonathan Zadka, Director of the Middle East Division.
The meetings focused on the ongoing conflict with Hamas, evolving Middle East geopolitics, rising anti-Semitism in Latin America, and the countries that have strengthened relations with Israel since October 7. In the evening, the group attended the official Yom HaShoah ceremony at Yad Vashem, where President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered powerful remarks in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
B’nai B’rith Represented at Launch of Film on Gaza Hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal
B’nai B’rith Philon Lodge Athens Victor Batis and B’nai B’rith World Center director Alan Schneider attended the premiere of the animated film Guygu about Guy Gilboa-Dalal who was abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023 at the Nova party and remains incarcerated in Gaza. The short film, narrated by his father, mother and siblings, is intended to depict Guy’s personality and how his affection for Japanese Anime animation might be contributing to his survivability under the extreme deprivation and torture imposed by Hamas on Israeli hostages. Schneider has maintained a relationship with the Dalal family since lighting Hannukag candles with them in a live B’nai B’rith event a few weeks after the Simchat Torah atrocities.
Greek Embassy in Israel Marks Independence Day at Kibbutz Be’eri
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider attended the Greek National Day reception at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were murdered, and 32 hostages were abducted to Gaza during Hamas’ terrorist massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. The touching gesture was a profound expressing of solidarity by Greek ambassador Maya Solomou, the Greek government and the Greek people and was highly appreciated by the evacuated kibbutz members who are still evacuated and in the process of rebuilding their shattered communal and personal lives. Ambassador Solomou said that Greece intends to deepen its relationship with Israel in all possible fields, noting that Greece stood by Israel from the moment it took steps to defend itself on Oct. 7, with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visiting just days later. “We continue to stand by the Israeli people in their heroic efforts to overcome this challenge. We call for the unconditional release of all the hostages now. We want to be next to you to remake your lives, rebuild your houses, plant your gardens, turn the ruins into light. Better days lay ahead; you will be able to dance again. And when you do that, we dance with you.”
B’nai B’rith Hosts German Filmmakers
The B’nai B’rith World Center facilitated a visit to Israel by two senior German journalists and filmmakers—Esther Schapira and Georg Hafner— arranging for them to visit three evacuated communities in the North—Manara, Metulla and Kfar Yuval. Buildings in all three communities were damaged by Hezbollah rocket fire and they remain empty of residents except for skeletal staff that are maintaining security and planning recovery. Schapira and Hafner are best known in Israel for their 2002 film on the Palestinian media hoax about the alleged killing of youngster Muhammad al-Durrah (“Three Bullets and a Dead Child”).
B’nai B’rith Confers with Officials in Israel
B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel Mariaschin and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider conferred on February 13 with Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials in Jerusalem and IDF officials in Tel Aviv in an ongoing effort to stay abreast of fast-changing situations on the ground and in Israel and share insights from B’nai B’rith’s efforts to bring Israel’s message to the world.
Meetings included Ambassador Dor Shapira, head of the North American Bureau at MFA; Ruth Cohen-Dar, director of the Department for Combating Antisemitism and Holocaust Remembrance and ambassador-designate to Slovenia; Ambassador Sharon Rappaport, director of the Department for World Jewish Communities; and Hamutal Rogel, director of the Department for Southern Europe. Mariaschin and Schneider also met with IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari for a long-ranging discussion on the challenges of presenting Israel’s case to the world, particularly during the ongoing conflict.
Additionally, they met with Romania’s Ambassador to Israel and Holocaust historian Radu Ioanid.
B’nai B’rith Meets with New Greek Ambassador to Israel
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider met on February 10 with newly appointed Greek Ambassador to Israel Maya Solomou—who presented her credentials to President Issac Herzog on Feb. 5 along with embassy First Secretary Nikos Mavroidis. The three discussed the many projects initiated by B’nai B’rith to foster closer people-to-people relationships between Greece, Israel, Cyprus and the U.S. These include holding joint leadership missions from the Jewish and Greek communities in the U.S. to the three countries, establishing the Israel-Hellenic Forum for analysts, journalists, government officials and public intellectuals, and founding the first common academic course in Greece, Cyprus and Israel on Israeli-Greek diplomatic relations, taught simultaneously by Dr. Gabriel Haritos in Hebrew and Greek. The ambassador pledged to consider cooperation on additional projects meant to promote Greek-Israel relations, based on the countries’ common pursuit of democracy, peace and freedom.
Israel Philharmonic Founder Bronisław Huberman Recognized for His Heroism During the Holocaust at Special Concert
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) held a special concert on Jan. 19 in honor of its founder, virtuoso violinist Bronisław Huberman z”l. The concert included the presentation of the “Jewish Rescuers Citation” in his memory, awarded by B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers During the Holocaust.
The concert was held at the Philharmonic’s home base—the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in the Tel Aviv Cultural Center at 1 Huberman Street—and featured Maxim Vengerov performing Huberman’s signature piece, the Brahms violin concerto, under the baton of Musical Director Lahav Shani. Speakers included Committee Chairman Aryeh Barnea, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director and Secretary of the Jewish Rescuers Citation Subcommittee Alan Schneider, and Israel Philharmonic Secretary General Yair Mashiach. The concert coincided with the release of three Israeli hostages from Gaza, which was acknowledged by all speakers, and concluded with Shani conducting a resounding rendition of Israel’s national anthem, Hatikvah.
Prior to the concert, the Josh Aronson documentary “Orchestra of Exiles,” about Huberman and the founding of the orchestra was screened with an introduction from Prof. Gideon Greif, a Holocaust historian, educator and member of the committee.
B’nai B’rith Meets with Opus Dei Jerusalem Vicar
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Chairman Dr. Haim V. Katz, Board Member Samuel Katz and Director Alan Schneider met on January 20 with the Vicar of Opus Dei in Jerusalem Joaquin Paniello Piero. The four discussed the upcoming 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate—the Catholic Church’s post-Holocaust foundational document on its relationship with the Jewish People—B’nai B’rith’s long engagement of dialogue with the Catholic Church and successive popes, unsubstantiated accusations that IDF forces deliberately targeted Christians in Gaza and other issues currently impacting Jewish-Catholic relations.
B’nai B’rith World Center Hosts Noted Greek Journalist
The B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem’s Israel-Hellenic Forum hosted Greek National Television (ERT) journalist Adam Provatas for a visit to Israel along with a 4-member production team. The visit—which fell during intensive negotiations toward a hostage-release deal—included the recording of several segments of Provatas’ highly-rated signature interview program, “SynThesis.”
One segment, filmed at the National Library of Israel (established by B’nai B’rith Jerusalem Lodge in 1892), featured celebrated authors Matti Friedman and Professor Gil Troy. Another session of SynThesis was filmed on site in Majdal Shams with parents of three children killed in a Hezbollah missile attack on July 27, 2024, in which 12 youngsters died while at a soccer practice. A third segment was filmed at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv with freed hostage Luis Har and the father of Guy Gilboa Dalal, kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza from the Nova music festival.
Provatas also sat down for interviews with MK Yoel (Yuli) Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset’s prestigious Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; former Israeli ambassador, Dr. Reda Mansour, at his home in the Druze village of Isfiya; Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister MK Sharren Haskel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III at the Patriarchate; head of the Greek Orthodox Church at Capernaum Archimandrite Father Irinarchos; and with former MK Einat Wilf, author of War of Return – how Western indulgence of the Palestinian dream has obstructed the path to peace. While in Israel, Provatas also reported live for ERT on his visit and developments surrounding the hostage deal.
An installment of Provatas’ signature interview program “SynThesis” with released hostage Luis Har and Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, abducted from the Nova music festival can be viewed here and an interview with Israel’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sharren Haskel here (beginning at 55:44). Another installment of SynThesis was broadcast on Feb. 22 that included interviews with the head of the Greek Orthodox monastery at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee, Amb. Reda Mansour, a member of Israel’s minority Druze community and parents of three of the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket attack that landed on a soccer field in the Golan Heights village of Majdal Shams can be viewed here. To view the program please sign up on the landing page and create a free ERT account.
Launch of Hotline for Released Hostages and Hostage Families
The Kamim Foundation and NATAL (Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center) hosted a launch event for a new phone line—funded through B’nai B’rith International’s Israel Emergency Fund—dedicated to support released hostages and hostage families. Reuven Rivlin, honorary president of Kamim and the 10th president of Israel; Ezra Cohen, Panama’s ambassador to Israel; and B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider were among the honorary guests that attended the ceremony.
Shay Shoham, CEO of Kamim, said, “thanks to principal funding from B’nai B’rith International, we have established a dedicated support line that offers direct, personalized assistance to released hostages, those still in captivity, and their families.”
Alan Schneider stated, “B’nai B’rith is honored to partner with Kamim and Natal in launching this important project that will benefit the broad hostage community that emerged from the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, 2023. B’nai B’rith has deep roots in Israel and the hot line is just the latest activity undertaken by the organization to assist and show solidarity with the people of Israel.”
Bahá'í International Community Representative Visits B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest
B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider hosted Bahá’í International Community Jerusalem representative David Freeman and his wife Tracy for a visit to the B’nai B’rith Martyrs Forest in the Jerusalem Hills. The forest—that covers some 4,500 acres with six million trees—is the oldest and largest site commemorating the victims of the Holocaust and is the largest project undertaken by B’nai B’rith with the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). The Martyrs Forest was initiated in the late 1940s and includes the iconic Scroll of Fire monument that was sculpted by renowned artist and Holocaust survivor Nathan Rappaport and installed in 1974.
They also visited other sites in the forest, including the B’nai B’rith Martyrs Cave, inaugurated in 1959; the Anne Frank Memorial, inaugurated in 2011; and a panel commemorating Sally Bein who was murdered by the Nazis in 1942 along with his wife, daughter and 47 pupils and staff members. Bein was the founding principal of a school for special needs children in Belitz, Germany, established by B’nai B’rith Germany and the Jewish community of Berlin in 1908. B’nai B’rith regularly visits the Bahá’í Gardens—a UNESCO World Heritage site in Haifa—with visiting groups and dignitaries.