Hearing a survivor in Budapest

After so many years of studying and learning about the Holocaust, on Sunday we learned some interesting perspectives about the Holocaust in Hungary from scholar, Laszlo Csosz. As it turns out, each country was so different in what happened to Jewish populations. The Hungarian deportations of 1944 started in the countryside--but did not continue with total deportation of the Jews of Budapest. About 70,000 of them remained in two different ghettos in the city and were liberated by the Russians. The tradgedy of the 1/2 million Hungarian Jews who were being deported to Auschwitz as the Allies were driving west always makes the losses of the Holocaust seem even more tragic and appalling. Add to this that we learned that students today are not required to learn about the Holocaust and do not hear the many survivors who do live here in Budapest. It made out presentation by a local survivor very poignant as she travels to Germany to speak to schools but does not speak in Hungary. Even so, the sun was shining and we were priviledged to hear Eva's story.

Laurie Warshal Cohen

See a photo of Eva of with the group at the Holocaust Center in Budapest on our facebook page.

Photos from Budapest - day 1

New photos on facebook today from our visit to Castle Hill in Budapest, the labyrinth of caves under the hill, archictecture in Pest, and more...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737&saved#!/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737

Arrived in Budapest!

Check out our photos on the Holocaust Center's Facebook Page -

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737&saved#!/album.php?aid=184847&id=140140310737

You don't have to be signed into facebook to see them. Or better yet, sign into facebook and become a fan of the Holocaust Center's page so that you can follow our trip!

Arrived in Budapest on Friday evening and ate dinner at the delicious Cyrano restaurant in walking distance from our hotel.

Dinner consisted of Gulash soup or Indian carrot and corn soup, paprika chicken with egg gnocchi (or lentils for the vegetarian), and a wonderful fruit/ginger yogurt.

Our hotel, Budapest Panorama Central Hotel, is really a floor of an apartment-like building. Each floor of the building looks at the Center courtyard. The rooms are small but lovely. The owner of the hotel even provided a bottle of wine for each room.

World Refugee Day

June 20, 2010 is World Refugee Day.

This year's World Refugee Day on June 20th has as its theme, "Home," in recognition of the plight of more than 40 million uprooted people around the world. Around 10 million of them are refugees of special concern to UNHCR...Read more.

East Valley Middle School Hosts Survivors

Julie Scott, a teacher at East Valley Middle School in Spokane, arranges for a Holocaust survivor to speak to her students each year. This is no small task since she must arrange for survivors to fly to Spokane from Western Washington.

Recently, Holocaust survivors Noemi B. and Peter M. spoke at East Valley Middle School.

Julie describes the photos shown here and the experience:

"Eighth grade students at East Valley Middle School listen to Holocaust survivor, Noemi Ban, sharing her experiences during the Nazi occupation of Hungary and in Auschwitz/Birkenau. Students were touched by her story and felt a special connection to her. Several described her as having a warm aura and being like a grandma that they just wanted to hug. She kept them on the edge of their seats, and students said they felt like they were there with her, because she was so descriptive in telling her story."

Speakers Bureau Luncheon and Writing/Art Contest Awards Ceremony

On Sunday, May 23rd, the Holocaust Center hosted its annual Spring Luncheon to honor members of the Speakers Bureau as well as the winners of the Jacob Friedman Writing and Art Contest. Over 150 people attended the luncheon, which took place in the Mercer Island Community Center at Mercer View.

Following Senator Ed Murray’s words of welcome, Speakers Bureau members shared their experiences that took place over the course of the past year. Members gave 255 presentations, sharing stories with 27,268 teachers, students, and community members. They traveled within Washington State as well as other places in Idaho, Oregon, California, Washington D.C., Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and even Taipei, Taiwan.

The winners of the Jacob Friedman Writing and Art Contest were also recognized at the ceremony. This included 26 students in the 5th/6th, 7th/8th, 9th/10th grade writing and art categories, out of the 750 entries that the Center received. Winners read excerpts from their work and were presented with awards.

The Center would like to extend special thanks to students for the effort they put into the contest and Speakers Bureau members for their dedication to sharing their stories with the community and teaching for humanity.

SJCS Teacher Beth Huppin Receives 2010 Covenant Award

The Holocaust Center congratulates Beth Huppin!

COVENANT FOUNDATION NAMES 2010 AWARDEES FOR EXCELLENCE IN JEWISH EDUCATION


Image at right: Winning art entry from one of Beth Huppin's students, Shai G.

Seattle Jewish Community School teacher Beth Huppin recognized as one of Three Jewish Educators who are Recipients of the Prestigious Covenant Award, and Cited for Innovation, Inspiration and Impact on Jewish Education and Community

2010 Recipients Move Their Students To Take Action
New York – June 1, 2010 – Three exceptional educators from across the spectrum of Jewish life are 2010 recipients of The Covenant Foundation’s prestigious Covenant Award for their commitment to excellence and for designing innovative approaches making lasting impact on students, community and Jewish education.

Beth Huppin, a Judaic Studies teacher at the Seattle Jewish Community School; Jan Darsa, Director of Jewish Education at Facing History and Ourselves in Brookline, MA; and Dr. Bernard Steinberg, President and Director of Harvard Hillel are the 2010 awardees.



“The institutions they have enriched, the programs they have initiated, and the influence they have had on their students, their peers, and the community at large is enormous,” said Eli N. Evans, chairman of the board of directors of The Covenant Foundation. “They do not share one denomination, one pedagogical approach, one teaching venue, or one definition of teaching. The one commonality among these uncommon people is their abiding love of Judaism and the Jewish people and their devotion to the perpetuation of the Jewish heritage.”

The three awardees join 57 other Jewish educators honored with a Covenant Award since the Foundation established the citation in 1991. Each will receive $36,000, and each of their institutions will receive $5,000.

The Foundation and the Jewish community will honor the 2010 Covenant Awardees on Nov. 7 at a gala dinner and award ceremony in New Orleans during the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America.

“The Covenant Award gives deserved recognition to those doing extraordinary, innovative and impactful work on the ground,” said Harlene Winnick Appelman, Executive Director of The Covenant Foundation and 1991 Covenant Award recipient. “Their daily work, often uncelebrated, touches Jews of all ages seeking inclusion and fulfillment in Jewish life, immeasurably strengthening Jewish community and continuity. Each of our 2010 awardees has made it his or her life’s work to call students to action and encourage them to live lives of engagement.”

Beth Huppin has taught day school Judaic Studies at the Seattle Jewish Community School since 1995 and is currently a fifth-grade teacher there. She is also a middle school and adult education teacher at Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle.

Huppin is widely recognized by colleagues, students, parents and others in the community as an inspiring teacher and leader who puts her stamp on Jewish education by injecting Jewish values and action - both in and out of the classroom - into curricula and the lives of her students.
Not satisfied with transmitting information, she regularly calls her students to action. Once a month, for example, she takes her fifth-grade students at Seattle Jewish Community School to serve meals to homeless persons, and participants have described the experience as transformative.

“The ultimate goal of Jewish education is tikkun olam,” she said. “The continuation of the Jewish people has meaning only if we fulfill God’s commands to repair this broken world.”
Huppin has had a critical impact on the Seattle Jewish Community School’s educational philosophy, has played a guiding role in the development of the Judaic curriculum, and is a mentor to new teachers. She has taught and inspired teachers from around the country at CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education) conferences.

Colleagues said she cherishes and thrives among students and teachers and leads by example with her charitable activities, especially among the homeless in the Seattle area.
“Beth has been asked many times to take on the official title of Jewish Studies Coordinator at SJCS,” said Head of School Debra J. G. Butler, who nominated Huppin for the Covenant Award. “Despite the fact that she virtually performs this role, she has refused the title in order not to separate herself from other teachers. Beth is a teacher among teachers. She inspires her colleagues, our elementary school students, and the middle and high school students she teaches in supplementary school programs and the many adults she has taught.”

“In honoring a classroom teacher, the Covenant Foundation honors not just me, but also all those teachers who are in the classroom day in and day out, guiding children and adults to discover the beauty and richness of Torah learning,” said Huppin, who holds degrees from Brandeis University and the University of Judaism. “It honors all of the classroom teachers who, as Heschel said, strive to respond to the call for ‘text people,’ and not only ‘textbooks,’ and who know that caring for each other is the bedrock of Judaism.”

Read full article which includes information on the other recipients...

The Holocaust Center thanks Beth Huppin for her fine work and her dedication to Holocaust education. This past year, one of her students placed second place in the Holocaust Center's writing/art contest.