(Washington, D.C., May 17, 2022)--B’nai B’rith International co-hosted a program commemorating the Czech Jewish community and Czech Holocaust victims at the Theresienstadt concentration camp on May 15 marking 77 years since the ghetto’s liberation.

Named “March of the Living Scroll: A Journey of Remembrance and Renewal,” the program included the rededication of a Torah scroll once used by the Olomouc Jewish community—one of 1,564 Czech and other Torah scrolls rescued by a Jewish philanthropist in 1964 after surviving the horrors and oppression of Nazism and Communism under appalling conditions in an abandoned synagogue and placed under the auspices of the Memorial Scrolls Trust (MST) in London. These scrolls have become symbols of Jewish continuity and have been loaned to Jewish communities, synagogues and institutions around the world.

The Olomouc scroll will go on loan to Beit Theresienstadt, Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud, Israel, where it will become an inspirational source of a unique Bar/Bat Mitzvah Jewish Heritage educational program. By exploring the historical and cultural background of the Olomouc scroll, youth who participate in the Beit Theresienstadt program will gain a better appreciation and understanding of their Jewish heritage.

B’nai B’rith had a significant presence in pre-war Czechoslovakia, with 16 lodges and 2,000 members across the country, including in Olomouc. Its activity ceased with the German invasion on March 15, 1939. The Renaissance Lodge in Prague was established in 1991 as the legal successor of the organization’s pre-war activity.

Other partners in the March of the Living Scroll program include the International March of the Living, the Terezin Memorial and the Jewish Museum in Prague.

The March of the Living Scroll began at the Bohusovice Train Station near Terezin—the same train station where tens of thousands of Jews arrived from November 1941, when the camp was established, until May 1945, when the SS fled advancing Red Army troops. The march commenced with the sounding of the Shofar by Rabbi David Maxa and proceed in silence to the crematoria. B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Director Alan Schneider read a letter from B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin in which he warned that “In the 21st century we are still witness to the effects of this greatest tragedy to befall our people. Holocaust revisionism and denial, aided by the internet via social media, is rising daily just as the number of survivors and eyewitness to the horror and barbarity meted out by the Nazis and their collaborators, is dropping precipitously. We must put in place as many programs of Holocaust education and remembrance as possible, lest the passage of decades and the re-writing of history erase the memory of the victims and the terrible crimes committed on this soil and throughout Europe.”

Schneider also paid tribute to Aaron Menczer, a member of Aliyat HaNoar in Vienna before the war, who organized the escape of hundreds of Jewish children—most of them stateless and therefore especially vulnerable—to Yugoslavia together with the head of Aliyat HaNoar Recha Frier. In February 1939 Menczer
accompanied a group of youngsters to Eretz Israel, but despite the pleading of friends, he returned to Vienna to continue his rescue activities. On Sept. 24, 1942, Menczer was transferred with his group to Theresienstadt where he continued his educational activities. In August 1943 he was given responsibility for a group of 1,269 orphaned children who were transferred to the ghetto from Bialystok. Six weeks later he asked to join them when they were deported to Auschwitz where they were all gassed.

Aaron Menczer and Recha Frier were presented posthumously with the Jewish Rescuers 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.

Participating in the program were two survivors of Theresienstadt—who shared their memories: Dita Kraus, who was deported from the Ghetto to the Children’s Block in the “Family Camp” at Auschwitz as a young woman and Hannah Sternlicht, who lost her parents in Auschwitz and survived on her own at the harsh labor camps of Freiberg and Mauthausen. Dita Kraus and Hannah Sternlicht recently published books in which they describe their experiences at the camp.

Hannah Sternlicht: “I often ask myself how I managed to survive. I am sure it has a great deal to do with my upbringing, although all that ended when I was 12. At first, I did not share what I had gone through, but when I saw my daughter take an interest and look for literature about the Holocaust, I realized that I must tell my story and pass it on. Despite the difficulty of revealing it all, I consider it a calling and obligation. I promised myself that, so long as I can, I will continue to do so.”

Dita Kraus: “I never look back to the past. I always look forward, think of what will happen tonight, tomorrow, next month. I look to tomorrow, to the future. If I do look back into the past I prefer to remember the days before the war.”

After completing the march to the Small Fortress, the mission participated in the official Czech Republic national commemoration marking 77 years since the liberation of Theresienstadt, during which B’nai B’rith’s participation was noted. The event was attended by the Speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, Prime Minister, members of government, supreme court judges, members of the diplomatic corps and other officials.

Also participating were the president of the Jewish Federations in Bohemia and Moravia, Petr Papousek; Tomas Kraus, director of the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic and president of B'nai B'rith Prague Lodge; Tami Kinberg, Beit Theresienstadt director; Phyllis Heideman, president of the International March of the Living and B’nai B’rith Honorary President Richard D. Heideman.

Tami Kinberg, Beit Theresienstadt Director: “Taking the Torah Scroll from Britain back to the Czech Republic and from there to Israel embodies a significant educational journey that links us to the wonderful history of European Jewry. The salvaged Torah Scrolls are not just a symbol of victory for the Jewish spirit but also of Jewish revival. We are excited to receive the Torah Scroll in Beit Theresienstadt and to harness it to link Bar/Bat Mitzvah children to the generations of their nation.”

Phyllis Heideman, International March of the Living President: “The March of the Living marches wherever Jews lived, survived, and were murdered during the Holocaust, to ensure that the memory is not forgotten. Now, perhaps more than ever before in our lifetime, we must do all within our power to keep Holocaust memory alive. The rescue, preservation, and restoration of over 1500 Torah Scrolls from Prague alone is true testament to the spirit of the Jewish People under all circumstances."

Alan Schneider, Director of B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem: “International B’nai B’rith is honored to participate in this sacred initiative of redeeming a Torah Scroll from the depths of the ruined Jewish communities of Czechoslovakia. This is one of many efforts that the organization initiated or took part in since the Holocaust ended. B’nai B’rith was active in Europe through hundreds of bureaus, beginning in Germany in 1882 and until the wonderful community was destroyed in the Holocaust and which is only partially restored today. Many members of the organization perished in the Holocaust. Until the Nazi forces repealed B’nai B’rith’s status as an independent organization and seized its assets in 1938, it operated 16 bureaus, including one in Olomouc, the origin of the Torah Scroll to be brought to Beit Theresienstadt. We are therefore especially excited to participate in this event that reflects victory over the Nazis who intended to destroy, not only the people of Israel, but also to obscure its Torah, beliefs and culture.”

The final event of this Journey of Remembrance and Renewal will take place on Friday, May 20, when the MST Olomouc Torah scroll will be installed at its new home in a festive ceremony at the Museum Beit Theresienstadt.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org

B’nai B’rith appreciates a “Dear Colleague” letter from U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) affordable senior housing community advocating for $600 million for new affordable housing construction. As the largest national Jewish sponsor of low-income, non-sectarian senior housing in the country, B’nai B’rith is keenly aware of the vital importance affordable housing plays in the lives of older Americans.

As the letter states, “As HUD’s most recent Worst Case Housing Needs Report finds, 2.24 million very low-income elderly households are paying more than 50 percent of their income in rent, an increase of 68% since 2009.” B’nai B’rith welcomes the request from senators for additional resources to build more senior housing properties around the country, as such homes are clearly desperately needed.

Thanks to Sen. Menendez and the 38 other members of the Senate, who signed onto this statement, in particular Senators Chris Van Hollen, Chis Murphy, Ben Cardin, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Coons, Tammy Baldwin, Alex Padilla, Bob Casey, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Edward Markey, Dianne Feinstein, Mark Kelly, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin. All of them represent housing properties in the B’nai B’rith senior housing network. B’nai B’rith appreciates their support!

View the Dear Colleague letter here.

The mission of B'nai B'rith Senior Housing is to provide seniors with quality, affordable housing in a secure, supportive community environment, without regard to religion, race or national origin in order to maximize their independent and dignified lifestyle. The B’nai B’rith Senior Housing Network in the United States comprises 38 buildings in 16 states and serves more than 5,000 residents. Our long history with housing started in 1971 when we opened our first sponsored property in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

(Washington, D.C., May 13, 2022)--A 19-member delegation of leaders of American Jewish and American Hellenic organizations completed a fifth, three-country Leadership Mission to Greece, Cyprus and Israel, to explore the major political, economic and security developments underway in the eastern Mediterranean and to advance the interests of the United States in the region.
 
Meetings were held with more than 30 high-ranking government officials, military officers and policy analysts from the three countries and the United States between April 26 and May 4, 2022. 
 
The participating organizations included: B’nai B’rith International, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (Order of AHEPA), American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
 
In a post-mission statement, the groups noted:
 
“Our meetings clearly affirmed the trilateral partnership between Israel, Cyprus, and Greece is strong and vibrant and is well-positioned to sustain that course. Together with the United States, the 3+1 framework is committed to achieving peace, stability and prosperity in the eastern Mediterranean and broader region. We applaud the leaders of the 3+1 framework for their close cooperative partnership, recently evidenced by the Virtual Foreign Ministerial held May 9, and attended by each of the country’s foreign affairs leaders, that conveyed an aim to intensify their cooperation across a broad array of sectors. The outcome of this Ministerial echoes what our delegation heard in our productive discussions with public officials in each of the three countries.
 
“We further maintain the trilateral partnership possesses the potential to allow the eastern Mediterranean to become a community of nations based on shared common values and aspirations. This approach anticipates that the partnership is neither exclusionary nor exclusive, and we hope it expands to like-minded countries that respect democratic values, international law and sovereign rights.  This will only serve to strengthen the region.
 
“As dedicated supporters, the American Hellenic and American Jewish communities are committed to advancing the trilateral partnership and 3+1 framework.  We will continue to work to foster closer cooperation with the United States and support the common efforts to achieve tangible and measurable outcomes across all areas.  For example, we commend initiatives to combat anti-Semitism, joint response efforts to natural disasters and innovations to bolster commerce, tourism, and green technologies.
 
“Finally, we are grateful to the many public officials who afforded us the opportunity to exchange views and ideas. The friendship and hospitality shown to us made the trip even more meaningful and productive.” 
 
Leadership Mission: Listing of Meetings, Briefings & Visitations
(In order of the country visited)
 
Cyprus

• Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.
• Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Overseas Cypriots Photis Photiou.
  • Commissioner Photiou hosted the joint delegation for a luncheon. U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus Judith Garber and Israel Ambassador to Cyprus Oren Anolik attended.
• President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou.
• The delegation also received a military briefing by Lieutenant General Dimocritus Zervakis, who is chief of the National Guard, at National Guard Headquarters.  Lt. Gen. Zervakis hosted a dinner reception for the delegation at the Officer’s Club.
• The delegation visited the Tomb of Makedonitissa, a war memorial and military cemetery where each organization’s head laid a wreath.
• The delegation visited the Cyprus – Israeli Monument, which commemorates 2,200 Jewish children born in Cyprus to Jewish Holocaust survivors detained in Cyprus between 1946 and 1949.

 
Israel

• President of Israel Isaac Herzog.
  • Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Israel Kyriakos Loukakis attended.
• Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
• Minister of Justice and Deputy Prime Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
• MK Ram Ben Barak, chairman, Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee.
• The delegation toured Palmachim Airforce Base.
• The joint delegation held discussions with the following officials at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
  • Director of Southern Europe Department Ori Rothman
  • Shuli Dovidovich, Head, Bureau for World Jewish Affairs and World Religions
  • David Levy, Acting Director, U.S.-Israel Political Relations Department
• Ambassador-designate of Israel to Greece Noam Katz.
• The delegation received high-level security briefings.
• The delegation received a policy briefing, “Regional threat analysis,” from Professor Efraim Inbar, president, and Dr. Eran Lerman, vice president, Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS). Dr. Lerman is a former Deputy for Foreign Policy and International Affairs and former member of the Israeli National Security Council.
• The delegation observed Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day.
• The delegation had a VIP tour in the Western Wall Tunnels and dinner hosted by friends of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

 
 
Greece

• Foreign Minister Nikolaos Dendias.
• National Security Advisor of Greece Dr. Thanos Dokos.
• Senior Advisor to Prime Minister of Greece for EU and U.S. Affairs Thanasis Bakolas.
• Defense and military briefing at the Ministry of Defense by Deputy Minister of National Defense Nikolaos Chardalias and Chief the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (HNDGS) General Konstantinos Floros.
  • Also present: Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lt. Gen. Charalambos Lalousis, Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis, Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lt. Gen. Themistoklis Bourolias, as well as other high ranking military officers.
• Chief of the HNDGS General Konstantinos Floros hosted the delegation for a luncheon at the Navy Officers’ Club at the Ministry of Defense.
• The delegation toured the 114 Combat Wing at Tanagra Air Base led by Commander Col. Stefanos Ambouleris, and the new Greek-purchased Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft received by the 332 All Weather Squadron.
• The delegation toured Hellenic Aerospace Industry.
• The delegation received a private tour and dinner of the Benaki Museum and a presentation by Athanassios G. Platias, professor of Strategy at the University of Pireaus, “The Geostrategic Changes in the Mediterranean and their Consequences.” Former Minister of Tourism and Culture Geroulanos Pavlos, whose family founded the Benaki Museum, arranged and hosted the tour and dinner.
• The delegation attended the 18th Annual AHI Athens Award Dinner.

 
Leadership Mission Participating Organizations
American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (Order of AHEPA) is a leading membership-based grassroots service association for American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes. Its mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.
 

• Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas
• Supreme Vice President Lou Atsaves
• Supreme Secretary Savas Tsivicos
• Supreme Governor Vassos Chrysanthou
• Daughters of Penelope Georgia Halakos (Greece only)

 
American Hellenic Institute (AHI) is a non-profit Greek American think-tank and public policy center that works to strengthen relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within the Greek American community.
 

• President/CEO Nick Larigakis
• AHI Foundation President Leon Andris
• AHI Board Member James Lagos, Esq.
• AHI Foundation Board Member and former AHIF President, Constantine Galanis
• AHI Board Member Maria Wills
• AHI Board Member Demitri Halakos (Greece only)
• AHI Board Member Kostas Alexakis (Greece only)

 
B’nai B’rith International is a worldwide Jewish community service organization widely known as one of the world's most influential humanitarian, human rights and advocacy organizations.
 

• CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin
• B’nai B’rith International Foundation Chairman Irving Silver, Esq.
• Frances Silver
• Director of B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem Alan Schneider, Esq.

 
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is the central coordinating body representing 53 national Jewish organizations on issues of national and international concern.
 

• Chair Dianne Loeb
• Chief Executive Officer William C. Daroff
• Vice Chair Malcolm Hoenlein
• David Eisner, Member, National Leadership Council

 
 
Background
 
AHEPA, AHI, B’nai B’rith International, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations completed their groundbreaking inaugural Biannual Leadership Mission to Israel, Cyprus, and Greece in January 2014. The missions have been widely recognized and praised as contributing to intergroup and international cooperation and friendship as well as to diaspora support for the trilateral partnership.
 
In December 2018, the organizations co-sponsored an international conference held in Jerusalem titled, “New Realities in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
 
In August 2011 and December 2012, they co-organized roundtable discussions in New York City between leaders of the American Jewish and American Hellenic communities.

Iranian Jewish Leader Executed by Iran in State-Sponsored Killing May 10, 1979

​(Washington, D.C., May 10, 2022)—B’nai B’rith President Seth J. Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

Today we pause to remember Habib Elghanian, a victim of Iran’s brutal state-sponsored regime, killed on this date in 1979.

Elghanian was the president of the Tehran Jewish Society when Iran’s tyrannical regime began civilian executions. Targeted because he was Jewish, Elghanian was a generous and forward-thinking philanthropist who aided many aspects of Iranian life, including funding the Hosseinieh Ershad Mosque in Tehran.

Though today we specifically remember Habib Elghanian, his murder serves as just one example of more than four decades of Iran’s terror, both within Iran and globally.

May his memory always be a blessing.

 B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org.

(Washington, D.C., May 5, 2022)--B’nai B’rith International President Seth J. Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We are pleased to announce the launch of our 2022 None Shall Be Afraid Essay Contest. Students between the ages of 18 and 22 are invited to present their thoughts for meaningful approaches to combat the alarming spike in attacks on Jews in the United States, Israel and around the world, online and in person. Winners will earn scholarship funds and have the opportunity to have their essays published. 
 
B’nai B’rith International created the None Shall Be Afraid initiative to keep a focus on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in our society today. None Shall Be Afraid was inspired by the 1790 letter from George Washington to the congregants of Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island, where he quoted Micah 4:4, "Everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." 
 
Now it’s time for the next generation to take its place in combating the world’s oldest hatred. 
 
The essay contest is open to: 
 

• Students (or those in a gap year) between the ages of 18 and 22 
• High school graduates (even if not yet 18) entering college in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023   

 
Participants are asked in under 1,000 words to share their thoughts about the impact of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on society today, and what we can do to fight the problem.

Awards:

• 1st place: $2,500 scholarship 
  
• 2nd place: $1,000 scholarship 
• 3rd place: $500 scholarship 

 
In addition to the scholarship, the first-place winner will have their essay printed in B’nai B’rith Magazine Winter 2022 edition and published on B’nai B’rith’s website and social media platforms. The essay may also be used in the organization’s promotional email material. 
 
Deadline:  
Essays are due by July 10, 2022 
 
Essays should be sent to cji@bnaibrith.org. For more information on how to apply, please visit our website here.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit bnaibrith.org.

(Washington, D.C., April 28, 2022)--B’nai B’rith International marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day, with virtual and in-person programs across the U.S. and globally.

B’nai B’rith held its annual observance of “Unto Every Person There Is A Name,” a program to honor Holocaust victims by reading their names and where and when they were born and died. This year’s program, hosted by B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, was held virtually over Zoom.

B’nai B’rith and community leaders who joined the program to read names included:

• Seth Riklin, B’nai B’rith International President
• Brad Adolph, B’nai B’rith International Vice Chair
• Sheila Mostyn, Chair of the B’nai B’rith Center for Jewish Identity
• Josh Sushan, Chair of Connect, B’nai B’rith’s Young Leadership program
• Rob Derdiger, CEO of the AEPi Fraternity
  

Mariaschin opened the ceremony and introduced the central theme of this year’s Unto observance, “Transports to Extinction (The Deportation of the Jews during the Holocaust).”

Before the names reading, Riklin read a letter from Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasizing the importance of remembrance and the duty to carry on the memory of those who died in the Holocaust.

“The generation of survivors is dwindling. We are the bearers of their legacy and must do all we can to remember the victims of the Holocaust,” Mariaschin said in his closing remarks. “By reading their names, age and place of death we keep their memory alive, reminding the world of what the Jewish people have lost.”

B’nai B’rith Connect held a unique Unto event, sending volunteers a list of 20 names to be read at any time, any place on April 27 and April 28. Participants were instructed to “read them over a candle, before bed, with your loved ones or whenever you can spare a few minutes.” All names read were of those who perished at Babyn Yar in Ukraine.

“For Yom HaShoah, I am reading the names of Jews who were brutally murdered at Babyn Yar in Ukraine—the country of our family ancestry—during the Holocaust with my daughter Simona,” said Ari Ackerman, a Connect leader and volunteer reader. “As Jews around the world face rampant anti-Semitism—including Holocaust denial—it is more important than ever that we ensure the next generation continues the vital legacy to never forget!”

In Israel the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) held a joint ceremony to honor Jews who rescued fellow Jews during the Holocaust, the only Yom HaShoah event dedicated annually to commemorating the heroism of Jewish rescuers.

The ceremony was held at B’nai B’rith Martyr’s Forest “Scroll of Fire” Plaza and was streamed in Hebrew on the World Center Facebook page and in English on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page. The “Jewish Rescuers 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 (JRJ)—was conferred on 13 rescuers who operated in France, Holland, Germany, Slovakia, Lithuania, Czechia and Denmark.

Speakers at the ceremony included: Sar-Shalom Jerbi, director, Education and Community Division, KKL-JNF; Alan Schneider, director, B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem; Brig. Gen. Kobi Karni, commander, Border Guard Combat Training Center; Ambassador Hans Docter, ambassador of the Netherlands to Israel.

Docter said in his remarks, "Here, at the forest of the Martyrs, 6 million trees were planted in memory of the innocent Jewish lives that were cut short. It is our responsibility to keep these 6 million memories alive and to say today, and every day, Never Again."

In addition to B’nai B’rith’s commemoration events, Mariaschin spoke at an event on April 27 in Nicosia, Cyprus, where he acknowledged and thanked the local citizens who assisted Jewish detainees at a British detention camp, which held survivors who had been turned away from entering pre-state Israel after World War II. The visit to this camp was part of a bi-annual leadership mission to Israel, Cyprus and Greece, held together with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and two Hellenic-American organizations: the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and the American Hellenic Institute. The commemoration event was hosted by the government of Cyprus.

On April 29, the B’nai B’rith Achim/Gate City Lodge in Atlanta will hold a hybrid Unto program, both over Zoom and in-person, at the Georgia State Capitol Building, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m ET.

Since 1989, B’nai B’rith has served as the North American sponsor of this program on behalf of Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

As Mariaschin read from the introduction to the 2022 “Unto Every Person There Is A Name” materials—written by Dani Dayan, chair of Yad Vashem—“The annual recitation of names of victims on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day is one way of posthumously restoring the victims’ names, of commemorating them as individuals. We seek in this manner to honor the memory of the victims, to grapple with the enormity of the murder and to combat Holocaust denial and distortion.”

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit bnaibrith.org.

(Washington, D.C., April 25, 2022)--B’nai B’rith International will co-host a program commemorating the Czech Jewish community and Czech Holocaust victims at the Theresienstadt concentration camp on May 15. Named “March of the Living Scroll: A Journey of Remembrance and Renewal,” the program will include the rededication of a Torah scroll once used by the Olomouc Jewish community—one of 1,564 Czech Torah scrolls rescued by a Jewish philanthropist in 1964 after surviving the vagaries of Nazism and Communism and placed under the auspices of the Memorial Scrolls Trust (MST). These scrolls have become symbols of Jewish continuity and have been loaned to Jewish communities, synagogues and institutions around the world.

The Olomouc scroll will go on loan to Beit Theresienstadt, Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud, Israel, where it will become an inspirational source of a unique Bar/Bat Mitzvah Jewish Heritage educational program. By exploring the historical and cultural background of the Olomouc scroll, youth who participate in the Beit Theresienstadt program will gain a better appreciation and understanding of their Jewish heritage.

B’nai B’rith had a significant presence in pre-war Czechoslovakia, with over 16 lodges and 2,000 members across the country, including Olomouc. Its activity ceased with the German invasion on March 15, 1939. The Renaissance Lodge in Prague was established in 1991 as the legal successor of the organization’s pre-war activity.

Other partners in the March of the Living Scroll program include the International March of the Living, the Terezin Memorial and the Jewish Museum in Prague.

The March of the Living Scroll will begin at the Bohusovice Train Station near Terezin—the same train station where tens of thousands of Jews arrived from November 1941, when the camp was established, until May 1945, when the SS fled advancing Red Army troops. The march will commence with the sounding of the Shofar by Hannan Weiss, a member of Beit Theresienstadt, and proceed in silence to the Small Fortress. Participating in the march will be three survivors of Theresienstadt—Hana Sternlicht, Dita Kraus and Michaela Vidalkova—who will share their memories during the ceremonies. The rededication event will take place in the framework of the official Czech Republic national commemoration marking 77 years since the liberation of Theresienstadt.

The final event of this Journey of Remembrance and Renewal will take place on Friday, May 20, when the MST Olomouc Torah scroll will be installed at its new home in a festive ceremony at the Museum Beit Theresienstadt.

March of the Living Scroll Program (All times local)

Please click here for an updated program.

Subject to change

Thursday, May 12: Arrival in Prague

Friday, May 13:

• (09:00) Welcome gathering in the Jewish Museum
• Opening Remarks: Tami Kinberg, Director, Beit Theresienstadt
  • Daniel Shek, Chairman, Beit Theresienstadt
  • Jeffrey Ohrenstein, Chairman, Memorial Scrolls Trust
  • Alan Schneider, Director, B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem
• Meeting with Dr. Leo Pavlát, Jewish Museum Director, prior to a comprehensive tour of the sites of the Jewish Quarter (until ~14:00)
• Free time
• (18:00) Kabbalat Shabbat service with Rabbi David Maxa at the Ec Chajim Synagogue and reception of an MST Torah scroll (Livestream)
• (20:00) Festive Shabbat dinner at the Jewish Town Hall with the Jewish Community of Prague honoring the activities of B'nai B'rith in pre-war Czechoslovakia as recounted by Alan Schneider and Tomas Kraus, Executive Director, Federation of the Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic; President, B’nai B’rith Prague Lodge

Shabbat, May 14:

• Morning hours free to join services, relax and tour
• (12:30) Shabbat Kiddush and luncheon with Tomas Kraus
• The story of the orphaned Torah scrolls redeemed by the Memorial Scrolls Trust, told by Jeffrey Ohrenstein, Chairman of MST
• At dessert there will be a special "Lehayim" in commemoration of a birthday that took place in Theresienstadt on May 11, 1944: Second Generation Memories of Yaakov Ben-Ze'ev, member of Beit Theresienstadt
• Afternoon tour: “In the footsteps of the Golem and Kafka”
• (~19:00) Dinner (The Jewish Community of Prague), Havdalah
• Optional evening program to be announced

Sunday, May 15:

• (07:15) Departure from Prague
• (08:30) March of the Living Scroll will begin at the Bohusovice Train Station and commence with the sounding of the Shofar by Hannan Weiss, member of Beit Theresienstadt, and proceed in silence to the Small Fortress.
  • Bus to Small Fortress will be available for those who prefer not to walk
• (10:00) We will join the memorial ceremony commemorating the 77th anniversary of the liberation of Terezin held at the Small Fortress
• (13:00) The Memorial Scrolls Trust & Beit Theresienstadt Olomouc Torah Ceremony
  • Remarks by Petr Papoušek, President, Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic
• Tour of Theresienstadt (return to Prague ~18:30)

Suggested Hotels

• Leonardo Prague: https://hotel-leonardo.hotel.cz/accommodation/
• Four Seasons Hotel: https://www.fourseasons.com/prague/
• EA Embassy Prague Hotel: https://www.hotelembassyprague.cz/en/
• Hotel Juliš: https://www.hoteljulis.cz/en/

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Booking flights and hotels will be made by the participants
• We recommend arriving the day before events begin (Thursday, May 12)
• Costs: Approximate: $350/U.S. (The price includes guiding and entrance fees, Shabbat dinner and lunch, lunch box for Sunday and transportation)
• To register, please fill in the registration form and pay the registration fee of $100/U.S.: רישום למסע עץ חיים March of the Living Scroll

This plan is subject to changes.

For further details contact info@bterezin.org.il or Tel: +972-(0)4-6369515.

For more information, click here.

B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit bnaibrith.org.