From the Director of Christian Friends of Yad Vashem
Dr. Susanna Kokkonen
Dear Friends:
Christian Friends of Yad Vashem was originally established in October 2006 in cooperation with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem to raise awareness among Christian communities worldwide about the Holocaust and its universal lessons for all humanity.
Truly the Shoah is a defining event in human history, which generated a huge moral crisis surrounding our most basic assumptions about the nature of mankind, of society, of the modern nation-state, and of our responsibility as individuals to take a stand against the unjust suffering of innocent people everywhere.
The Holocaust has therefore become a compelling challenge for concerned individuals all over the world. Today we are seeing an increasing interest in this topic from Christians worldwide, who recognise the Holocaust as a unique human tragedy, and not just Jewish history.
Christian Friends of Yad Vashem seeks to be a facilitator for disseminating knowledge about the Holocaust in ways that bring its universal lessons to the wider Christian world. These endeavours also aim to build bridges between Jews and Christians and to fight anti-Semitism together. In addition, we would like to educate about the noble legacy of the Righteous among the Nations – Gentiles who acted to rescue Jews during WWII and have been recognised by Yad Vashem as ‘Righteous Gentiles’.
So far we have sponsored Christian educators to participate in Yad Vashem’s international seminars on how to teach others about this most difficult topic. We also have arranged workshops and other tailor-made programs for visiting Christian groups, and in general made Yad Vashem’s many resources available to Christian communities. In addition, I have visited churches and communities worldwide to speak and present films on the Holocaust.
As Yad Vashem’s motto goes: “Remembering the Past means Shaping the Future”. To understand the anti-Semitism of today, we need to know what happened before us.
Our newest and most exciting project involves the Righteous among the Nations. Trees have been planted in their honour on the campus of Yad Vashem. Each tree is attached to a specific person designated a ‘Righteous Gentile’, as a way of reminding us of their personal, inspirational stories. We offer Christians around the world the opportunity to become guardians of a particular tree. For $100 per year, you can take upon yourself the guardianship of a tree and thus help us ensure that not only the tree itself, but the larger legacy of the ‘Righteous’ will be maintained. Information on the Righteous and the tree will be sent to you once you become a guardian.
Many visiting groups have taken this opportunity and added a tree adoption ceremony to their tour program at Yad Vashem. We have had moving times together when learning the stories of the courageous individuals who did not remain indifferent. These ceremonies will be available upon prior request during the Feast of Tabernacles 2009.
For those attending this year’s Feast in Jerusalem, I would also love to see you at our seminar “Facing the Evil”, featuring a Holocaust survivor, on the morning of October 6. In addition, we will have a booth manned by volunteers, who will be glad to tell you more about our projects.
We continue signing up Christians as “Christian Friends of Yad Vashem”. Memberships are important because they allow you to identify more closely with our work and enable us to continue our vital activities. It is my hope that, whether you are here during the Feast 2009 or whether you are visiting Israel at some other time of the year, we can make your tour of Yad Vashem even more meaningful than it already is. Christian groups touring the Land are welcome to contact us ahead of the time to make your special arrangements for visiting Yad Vashem.
And naturally, we invite you to become a Christian Friend of Yad Vashem no matter where you are.
Warmly,
Dr. Susanna Kokkonen
Director
Christian Friends of Yad Vashem
If you are interested in making a donation to the Christian Desk of Yad VaShem, please go to our donation page and mark your gift for “Yad Vashem Christian Desk.”
Print
Tell a friend
