Swastikas painted on Seattle synagogues highlight need for education, tolerance

Combating Hate with Knowledge
The Seattle Times
September 17, 2009

The swastikas painted on two synagogues in Seattle's Seward Park neighborhood are a stark reminder that hate and prejudice live. Guest columnists Laurie Cohen and Delila Simon say the vandalism is a reminder that people must denounce hatred when they see it.

By Laurie Warshal Cohen and Delila Simon
Special to The Seattle Times

WITH a splash of paint, in the dark of night, some youngsters in Seattle have reminded us that hate crimes, ignorance and intolerance are ever-present, even in our own backyard. Swastikas painted on two synagogues recently in Seward Park are a stark reminder that each of us has the responsibility to shine a light on prejudice and hate whenever and wherever we encounter it.

The swastika graffiti drawn on the synagogues in one of our own Seattle neighborhoods challenges us as a community and as individuals to confront the roots of hate crimes such as this one. It is not enough to tolerate our differences; we must learn to respect our diversity. We must learn to be the ones who stand up to hate and to violence.

Sad to say, the experience of such intolerance can be found every day in almost every area of our lives. Students come up against bullying in our schools. The Muslim community has suffered a narrow-minded anger and prejudice since the tragedy of 9/11. In recent news reports, we see instances of intolerance with anger and hateful speech drowning out thoughtful and reasoned disagreement or discussion.

Whether in the blatant form of swastikas or the more subtle offensive comment, the origin is the same: intolerance. And if we do not stand up when we see it, and teach our children how unacceptable it is, we all remain in the dark.

Since the Holocaust, the swastika has become a symbol of what could happen if hatred is fostered and left unchecked. No matter who painted the swastikas — no matter what motive — they picked this symbol and they selected synagogues to display it. Symbols are powerful in our culture. This one has tragic historical meaning for humanity, but especially for Holocaust survivors who witnessed swastikas scribbled on the shops owned by their parents in Germany on Kristallacht — November 9-10, 1938.

After the recent shooting of Stephen Tyrone Johns at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., museum director Sara J. Bloomfield made the following statement: "The Holocaust did not begin with mass murder. It began with hate. The Holocaust reminds us of the dangers of indifference and unchecked hate — and that each of us has a responsibility to stand up to it."

We all know the tragic consequences of bigotry, prejudice and hatred. The Washington State Holocaust Education Center's mission of teaching and learning for humanity puts it on the front lines of educating our young people. With a multipronged approach, we help students study the Holocaust in the context of human rights and genocide.

As an outcome of our educational efforts we have witnessed students saying they will no longer accept bullying in their classes. They know the difference one person can make. A Lynnwood High School student stated, "After studying the Holocaust and hearing a Holocaust survivor speak, I feel it is my job to help others. I can't just let things happen anymore."

Teaching about the Holocaust is a springboard for connecting lessons of the past to current issues of intolerance in our classrooms. Learning about prejudice and the roots of genocide are other important lessons. Our children will inherit a more diverse world. They are depending on us to create pathways toward a more inclusive society. At the Holocaust Center, we know this can be done through education.

We know that the slogan "Never Again" has fallen short of reality as we are living in an age of modern genocide. We should have learned by now that we cannot wait as bystanders or victims, we must act. We must teach our children to stand up for what is right, for the betterment of our community, our region and our world. We must denounce hatred when we see it and embrace the diversity of our fellow human beings with whom we share this planet.

Laurie Warshal Cohen, left, and Delila Simon are co-executive directors, Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center.

Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation strives to stop genocide

The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation
AIPR's mission: The Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation seeks to prevent genocide through the training and education of mid-level policy makers from around the world.

Dr. James Waller, an affiliated scholar with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, and author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, will be speaking in Seattle on October 21 and as the keynote speaker at the Holocaust Center's annual fundraiser luncheon on October 22.

The Daily Tell
Article By Alex Zucker, Guest Writer
September 15, 2009

It has been more than sixty years since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and declared genocide a crime. But tragically, genocide continues around the world. Some believe there will never be any way to stop it. But the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, a nonprofit group committed to genocide awareness and human rights networking, believes this mass murder can be prevented.

Founded with the support of the International Auschwitz Council and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, the AIPR began its mission in May 2008 with a one-week seminar in Auschwitz, for policy makers from twelve countries and every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Eighteen scholars shared their knowledge on the history of genocide and the elements of genocide prevention. The aim was to give government officials the tools to identify conditions when genocide is likely and implement policies to avoid it, as well as to build an international network of professionals dedicated to stopping genocide. Read more...

UN agency names Cambodian genocide museum a key historical archive

UN agency names Cambodian genocide museum a key historical archive

The Canadian Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia's Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly a prison and torture centre operated by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s, has been declared by the U.N. to be an archive of worldwide significance for its historical documents.

The Cambodian government and U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO - opened a meeting Monday to establish a national committee to oversee the museum's operation as a newly designated "Memory of the World" site. A UNESCO meeting at the end of July in Bridgetown, Barbados, named the museum as one of 35 archives worldwide added to a list of almost 200 that are exceptional historical repositories.

The museum, formerly a high school in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, was turned into S-21 prison after the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. Of the estimated 16,000 men, women and children who passed through its gates, only a handful survived. An estimated 1.7 million people died as a result of the communist Khmer Rouge's radical policies from 1975 to 1979.

The museum's archive includes 4,186 confessions - often falsely given by prisoners under torture - 6,226 biographies of prisoners, 6,147 photographic prints and negatives of prisoners and other items. Read more...

President Obama's Speech to Students

http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama - Back to School Event
Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning....keep reading...

Madonna Booed in Bucharest for Defending Gypsies

August 27, 2009
By ALINA WOLFE MURRAY, Associated Press Writer Alina Wolfe Murray, Associated Press Writer

BUCHAREST, Romania – At first, fans politely applauded the Roma performers sharing a stage with Madonna. Then the pop star condemned widespread discrimination against Roma, or Gypsies — and the cheers gave way to jeers.

The sharp mood change that swept the crowd of 60,000, who had packed a park for Wednesday night's concert, underscores how prejudice against Gypsies remains deeply entrenched across Eastern Europe.

Despite long-standing efforts to stamp out rampant bias, read more...

Holocaust Center meets Superintendent Randy Dorn

Laurie Warshal Cohen and Dee Simon, the Holocaust Center's Co-executive Directors, and Ilana Cone Kennedy, Director of Education, had the opportunity to meet today with Superintendent Randy Dorn.

The drive from Seattle to OSPI in Olympia was a quick one. Robert Harkins, Deputy Superintendent, joined the meeting.

Dee, Laurie and Ilana stressed the importance of Holocaust education and the increasing demand by teachers for resources, programs, and professional development.

Superintendent Dorn appeared impressed and supportive.

The Holocaust Center's Education Advisory Committee meets tonight.

International Day of Remembrance for Roma Sinti

The International Romani Union (Representing Roma and Sinti) have called Sunday 2 August 2009 as International Day of Remembrance for the Roma/Sinti who suffered "the devouring", and who suffer throughout Europe today. Read more...

Creating Master Teachers

Three teachers from Washington State, selected by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, attended the prestigious Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR)Summer Institute this year in New York. These three teachers will join the more than 25 JFR alumni in our state.

The Holocaust Center is one of the JFR's 13 "Centers of Excellence." These Centers from across the country are invited to select teachers to attend the Summer Institute. Each year the Holocaust Center selects two or three teachers to attend this program. After an intensive week of Holocaust study and teacher training with leading scholars and educators, teachers return to their schools to share what they have learned with students and colleagues. JFR Alumni lead sessions at the Holocaust Center's local teacher seminars, serve as advisors for new teachers, and are the backbone of the Holocaust Center's Education Advisory Committee.

Attending the JFR this year (2009):

Kirsten Jensen, Nooksack Valley High School, Everson
Kelly Wheeler, Spanaway Lake High School, Spanaway
Debbie Dempsey, Principal, Kent Mountain View Academy, Des Moines

I learned that in my own small way, I am involved in a resistance organization, one that fights discrimination, one that fights prejudice, one that fights racism, and one that fights hatred of any kind and at any level. That is what being an Alfred Lerner Fellow (JFR Alumnus) means to me. And trust me, I do not take this charge lightly. - Kelly Wheeler

Every year I teach reading and writing skills through a Tolerance unit and after attending this seminar I have many more ideas and a much thorough understanding of this period of time and the social, cultural and historical background. The week was organized with lectures by scholars and professors and followed by small group breakout sessions to discuss how we might integrate or teach these ideas in our classrooms. Both were very beneficial.

I learned a lot from the week and have decided to embark on a year of Thematic Units in my reading and writing workshop classroom. Instead of focusing on just one unit on Holocaust education, I will thread these ideas and lessons of the Holocaust throughout the entire year. For example, some of my units will include: Reading for Life Experiences, Cultural Perspectives, The Individual and Society, Historical Perspectives, The Writer’s Point of View, Outsiders and the “Other”, and Overcoming Obstacles. Thank you so much to all the donors that made this trip possible. I look forward to sharing what I learned with other English as well as Social Studies teachers. - Kirsten Jensen

JFR Alumni in Washington State:
Kari Averill, Cascade High School, Everett; Steve Bernard, Central Valley High School, Veradale; Dr. Larry Blades, recently retired from Highline Community College, currently teaching overseas; Nick Coddington, Charles Wright Academy, Tacoma; Ilana Cone Kennedy, Holocaust Center, Seattle; Rosemary Conroy, St. Luke School, Shoreline; Jo Cripps, Alternative School 1 (AS1), Seattle; Lois Fein, Seattle; Paula Fraser, Stevenson Elementary, Bellevue; Pat Gallagher, Kent Mountain View Academy, Des Moines; Ann Gilbert, Forest Ridge, Bellevue; Mark Johnson, formerly of Seattle Prep, currently teaching overseas; Ruth Ann Johnson, St. George’s School, Spokane; Kathy Jones, Whitman Middle School, Seattle; Larry Kolano, Longview; Stephen Pagaard, North Kitsap High School, Poulsbo; Susan Redd, Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon; Julie Scott, East Valley Middle School, Spokane; Freddie Yudin, Ingraham High School, Seattle

Dina Babbitt, Artist at Auschwitz, Is Dead at 86

New York Times
By Bruce Weber

Dina Babbitt, who as a prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp bartered her services as a portrait painter for her life and her mother’s life, and spent the past several decades trying to retrieve her paintings from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum, died on Wednesday in Felton, Calif. She was 86. Read article...

U.S. Backs Implementing U.N. Doctrine Against Genocide

The Wall Street Journal
July 30, 2009. By JOE LAURIA

UNITED NATIONS -- The Obama administration is supporting moves to implement a U.N. doctrine calling for collective military action to halt genocide.

The next step is to see if the countries in favor of implementing the policy will act when a new genocide is brewing if all other diplomatic actions fail. The doctrine is political, not legal: Although these countries have expressed the political will to act, they aren't legally bound to. Read article...

World is Witness

World is Witness - A geoblog that shares stories, photos, and maps from the field to document genocide and related crimes against humanity.

Photo: A Bangladeshi UN transport helicopter takes off from Duru village in Northeastern Congo while a Moroccan soldier secures the field. Michael Graham/USHMM. April, 2009.

Empty Desks in Duru
Duru, Democratic Republic of the Congo
June 24, 2009
Our MI-17 transport helicopter rumbles to life and lifts up from the UN base outside of Dungu, above American-made Humvees parked next to piles of supplies and prefabricated offices squatting alongside the dirt runway. UN staff in blue Kevlar and helmets buckled in next to me put on a jovial air, but there is an undercurrent of tension. We are flying into the heart of Lord’s Resistance Army ’s territory, just a few miles from their former base in Garamba National Park. Read more...


World is Witness, a project of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, bears witness to genocide and related crimes against humanity around the world. Our staff and guest contributors bring you updates from the field, eyewitness testimony, photographs, interactive maps and more. Includes interactive maps with Google Earth.


If you haven't seen this yet, you need to check it out. These stories and entries clearly remind us how important this education is and how much work needs to be done.

Broadening Awareness about Darfur

A critical part of studying the Holocaust is making the connection to current issues such as prejudice, hatred, and contemporary genocide. We received an email last week from an organization in Maine created by survivors from Darfur. From their website:

The Fur Cultural Revival is a non-government, non-profit organization committed to broadening the public’s awareness of genocide in Darfur; serving the needs of the Darfur community residing in the greater Portland area and preserving the Fur tribal culture.

To learn more about the crisis in Darfur and the important work of The Fur Cultural Revival, visit http://sites.google.com/site/furculturalrevivalme/ .

On hate groups: 'You never, never decrease the problem by ignoring it'

KOMO News

SEATTLE -- An organization that tracks hate groups says records show there are more such groups now than ever before.

In an effort to help determine why, KOMO News got an exclusive interview with a member of the Aryan Nations and with those determined to stop the hate....

Hate groups up 50 percent
The Southern Poverty Law Center tracks racial hatred. In the last eight years, the center reports the number of hate groups has gone up 50 percent. They count 962 -- the most ever on record.

Read article

Note - the comments that follow the article are equally interesting...

Al-Bashir prosecutor pushes for genocide charge

(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court says he has evidence to prove Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is guilty of genocide, even though he is not charged with the crime.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo spoke to CNN on Wednesday, two days after he appealed to the court to add genocide to the existing arrest warrant for al-Bashir.

The court issued the warrant in March on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to his five-year campaign of violence in western Sudan's Darfur region.

"The evidence shows it is genocide," Moreno-Ocampo said.

The warrant was the first one ever issued for a sitting head of state by the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal, based at The Hague in the Netherlands.... read article.

Confronting Violence with Knowledge

Holocaust Museum shooting shows need for continued education about the Holocaust

JT News
By Dee Simon and Laurie Warshal Cohen, Co-Executive Directors, Holocaust Center

The recent fatal shooting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is a stark reminder that each of us has the responsibility to stand up to prejudice and hate whenever and wherever we encounter it.

Sara J. Bloomfield, Director of the USHMM in Washington, sent out the following statement: “This incident underscores why the Museum is so important. The Holocaust did not begin with mass murder. It began with hate. The Holocaust reminds us of the dangers of indifference and unchecked hate — and that each of us has a responsibility to stand up to it.”

As individuals and as a community, we search again for answers and solutions to this kind of needless violence.

The Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center is working in our region to reach students, teachers and communities with educational programs that focus on the tragic consequences of bigotry, prejudice and hatreds. The center’s mission of teaching and learning for humanity puts it on the front lines of educating our young people. With a multi-pronged approach to Holocaust education, students who study the Holocaust in the context of human rights and genocide learn that hatred and prejudice have tragic consequences. They tell their teachers they will no longer accept bullying in their classes, and that they know the difference one person can make:

“After studying the Holocaust and hearing a speaker, I feel it is my job to help others to be tolerant towards different races and cultures. I can’t just let things happen anymore,” says one Lynnwood High School student.

As a small non-profit, the center dedicates its resources to programs that include: Holocaust teaching trunks, survivor presentations to classes, teacher training, traveling exhibits, classroom book sets, community programs, and an extensive multi-media library of artifacts, testimonies and other Holocaust materials. With these programs, we reached 40,000 students, teachers and community members this year.

These acts of violence, especially toward Jewish institutions, are a challenge to all of us. We grieve Stephen Tyrone Johns, who lost his life in Washington D.C. At the Holocaust Center, we confront this challenge through education. This is what the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has stood for since it opened its doors, and this is the mission of our local center in Seattle.