The QC Night to Honor Israel committee is planning the annual Night to Honor Israel fundraising event which is scheduled to be held this year at a new location, a new time and new day of the week: Bettendorf Christian Church, 6:30 pm, on Saturday, October 17. Please contact aross@jfqc.org for more information.
More than 6 million people, most of them Jews, died in the Holocaust. The music they wrote as a temporary escape, however, did not, thanks in part to the efforts of an Italian composer and pianist, Francesco Lotoro. He has spent 30 years recovering, performing, and in some cases, finishing pieces of work composed in captivity. He is on a remarkable rescue mission, reviving music like a piece created by a young Jewish woman in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944. Read more.
April 21st is Holocaust Remembrance Day. For parents and educators who are home-schooling students in grades 7-12, here is a one class period lesson (with extended activities) from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum entitled: “History of Antisemitism and the Holocaust.”
R.O.I., produced by KALA and an affiliate of Public Radio International, has interviewed several local scholars on topics relating to the Holocaust. The show examines important events in history as well as current events through books, journal article, papers, and presentations. The guest and show co-hosts then discuss the topic with experts and history buffs who ask the question “How is it relevant or irrelevant in today’s world?”
Dr. Art Pitz was interviewed on the radio show R.O.I. in 2019, on the topic “History of Antisemitism and American Eugenics Movement.” His interview can be found at this link or click on the “play arrow” below.
KALA is operated by St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa. Shows air locally on Friday night on KALA 88.5 FM and 106.1 FM at 9:30 PM. After airing, the full program and web segment will be available as a podcast at: https://soundcloud.com/kalaradio
Other Holocaust-related shows on R.O.I.:
Mark Finkelstein – Holocaust Memorial in Des Moines
Rabbi Henry J Karp – One Human Family Program
EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19. Yom Hashoah was scheduled for April 19, 2020 (6:30 PM) at the Tri Ciy Jewish Center (2715 30th St, Rock Island, IL).
Holocaust survivor Ida Paluch Kersz will be the 2020 keynote speaker this year in the Quad Cities. About Ida: Ida Paluch Kersz was born May 1939, in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon after the German invasion, Ida, her mother, her twin brother, and her older sister were put into the Sosnowiec ghetto. When she was three years old, her mother committed suicide, while her father was fighting as a Polish solider against the Germans. After the war, Ida’s father found her. In 1957, Ida immigrated with her father to Israel. In 1963, Ida and her family came to Chicago. She has volunteered at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center for over 25 years. Click on flyer for details: Ida flyer-2
Curriculum cases for teaching about the Holocaust in grades 6-8 are available for free checkout by Quad City area teachers. These cases were developed by the Curriculum Committee for the Jeff Leibovitz Special Collection of Holocaust Education Materials.
Flyer Curriculum Cases
Three curriculum case topics:
Case 1: “You Can Make A Difference: Teaching About the Holocaust”
Case 2: “They Made a Difference: Rescuers and Resisters”
Case 3: “Voices from the Holocaust: Diaries & Memoirs”
Cases 1, 2, and 3 are located at WIU-Quad Cities Library (3300 River Drive, Moline, IL). Call to schedule curriculum case checkout at 309/762-1598. No delivery service. Self pickup required. Website Case 1 is also available at Mississippi Bend AEA9 (729-21st St., Bettendorf, IA). Call to schedule curriculum case checkout at 563/359-1371. Iowa schools within the AEA9 district can request AEA9 van delivery to school building.
THIS YEAR’S 2020 CONTEST WINNERS & PARTICIPANTS
Essay and Art Flyer 2020
Honorable Mention
Rhett Bliss “Tears from the Prosecuted” – 10th Grade, Mercer County High School, Aledo, Illinois; Sulymar Morales-Espinosa “The Safety Wall” – 6th Grade, Creative Arts Academy, Davenport, Iowa; Alexys Scheeper “Free Like a Butterfly” – 9th Grade, Central DeWitt High School, DeWitt, Iowa; Mwenyemali Djuma “Lost Innocence in a World of Destruction” – 7th Grade, Washington Junior High, Rock Island, Illinois; Miles Showalter “Grief” – 9th Grade, Mercer County High School, Aledo, Illinois; Gael Chenus “Hope Among Darkness” – 7th Grade, Creative Arts Academy, Davenport, Iowa; Hope Bauer “Looking In….Reaching Out” – 11th Grade, Bettendorf, High School, Bettendorf, Iowa; Benjamin Maas “The Jewish Star” – 9th Grade, Home Schooled
For both contests – First prize is $500, and if there is a sponsoring/nominating teacher, then he/she will receive a gift card of $100 to support classroom needs. Second prize is $200 and third prize is $100, and if there is a sponsoring/nominating teacher, he/she will receive $50 gift cards for classroom needs. Honorable mention students will receive a $25 gift card. In addition, all students who entered the contests….whether they won top prizes or not….. will receive a letter of thanks and a gift card for their entry. This year there were 34 essay entries and 24 visual art entries. In addition, there were two “Dance” video entries this year from the Creative Arts Academy. A big thank you goes to their dance instructor, Bridget Jesson. All dancers will receive a gift card, as well as their instructor.
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The 8th Grade Dance Enrichment performed a dance to the songs “Welcome to Wonderland” and “Arsonist’s Lullaby.” The 5 dancers were Mackenzie Besgrove, Laney Chandler, Tatum Roselle, Aidan Sammon and Claire Gillespie. See the dance at:
https://youtu.be/rHRJTy5BfVk<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=glsjhgabb.0.0.x7ghb4bab.0&id=preview&r=3&p=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FrHRJTy5BfVk>
The winning essay would normally have been read during the annual Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Remembrance Service, which was scheduled for Sunday, April 19. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the program has been postponed indefinitely.
The visual art entries would normally have been displayed at the Moline Public Library and then at Rutabaga Art Studio in Geneseo, Illinois, as well at the annual Yom Hashoah – Holocaust Remembrance Service. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are on a holding pattern to see if the entries will be displayed anywhere or not in the near future.
The Quad Cites Yom Hashoah Committee sponsors both contests, with Quad City Arts co-sponsoring the Visual Arts Contest. For more information, contact the Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities (309)793-1300 or aross@jfqc.org
