American Society for Yad Vashem

12/31/2023

Effective January 1, 2024, the American Society for Yad Vashem, Inc. (ASYV) is no longer affiliated with Yad Vashem. As of such date, ASYV is no longer actively raising funds or conducting educational programming. Any funds received by ASYV after January 1, 2024, net of expenses, will be used for the long-term support of Yad Vashem.

For inquiries related to ASYV, please reach out through our contact page at [email protected].

To support Yad Vashem directly, please visit yadvashem.org.

12/22/2023

Please enjoy the latest issue of Martyrdom & Resistance.

Follow the link to read the publication: http://tinyurl.com/3p5xd95b

12/21/2023

This week we had a privilege of discussing the book "Memories in Focus" with it's author, Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter at our most recent Book Club.

Special thank you to event moderator Shael Rosenbaum, Canadian Society for Yad Vashem National Chair.

If you missed this, follow the link to watch the recording of the Book Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbXEDJt1jXU

12/19/2023

12/15/2023

“When he opened his mouth, I saw the gates of the crematorium.” - Michael Goldman-Gilad (1st photo), Holocaust survivor and Investigative Officer for the Eichmann Trial.

December 15, 1961, Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death by the District Court in . One of the highest ranking SS officers, was in charge of implementing the plan for the “Final Solution.” Publicized globally, the trial brought the and the voices of the survivors to the world’s attention.

📷: Courtesy of Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem

12/14/2023

Holocaust survivor Jack Gruber z’l was born in Rudnik, Poland during , 1928.

When WWII broke out, the town of Rudnik fell under German rule. Rumors of violent antisemitism began to circulate and the family feared for their safety. Jack, along with his parents and younger brother David, hastily fled east. But their relief was short-lived. Armed officers appeared in the middle of the night and rounded up the refugee families. The Grubers were placed in cattle cars and sent more than 2,000 miles away to Siberia.

At just 12 years old, Jack found himself living on the frozen steppes of eastern Soviet Asia, performing manual labor to survive. In 1943, the Germans were defeated at Stalingrad and Jack made his way to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. After the war, Jack’s family returned to Poland, but the home they once knew was gone.

So in 1946, the Grubers slipped across the border to Austria. From there they went to Germany and remained in a DP camp until immigrating to America in 1950. Jack settled in New York where he met the love of his life, Sheba. He ran his own business for 62 years and raised a beautiful family, whom he inspired with his loving kindness and generous soul.

The look in Jack’s eyes as he embraces his great-granddaughter says it all - so much nachas! ❤️

📷: Courtesy of /

12/14/2023

A miracle menorah that has come to symbolize Jewish perseverance has made its way to the front lines of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva Posner, took the photo of Hanukkah menorah on the window ledge of their family home looking out on to the building across the road decorated with N**i flags in 1931.

Posner’s great-grandson Raziel Gilo, a 35-year-old Israel Defense Forces reservist, brought the menorah to the Gaza border to inspire his unit.

“We face a brutal and terrifying enemy that wants to destroy Israel. This enemy doesn’t separate a religious Jew from a non-religious Jew. They want to kill every Jew because he or she is a Jew — exactly like the N**is tried to do.”

Last year, Posner’s granddaughter Nava Gilo and her brother Yehuda Mansbach brought the menorah to Germany for the first time in nearly 90 years.

It’s usually displayed at Yad Vashem: World Holocaust Center, Jerusalem except for Hanukkah, when the Posner family brings it to one of their homes and Mansbach takes it to Israeli schools to share “our important history and message” with kids, said Nava. “It’s very important that it’s not stuck in my generation.”

This year, Nava’s son, Raziel, a rabbi for his unit, asked to take the menorah with him to a base near the Gaza border where he drew the treasured family keepsake from his backpack and shared the story of its survival.

“In order to continue our humane life we have to destroy evil. We cannot accept or swallow it — we have to destroy evil,” Raziel, who lives in Lod, told his troop as he lit the candles. “In these days we see it in such a clear way that, if we don’t win, the darkness will swallow us. But this will not happen. We are here due to previous generations fighting against evil and we will win …"

📷: Raziel Gil
Source: New York Post

12/13/2023

New Date for ASYV'S VIRTUAL BOOK CLUB

The Book Club hosted by Young Leadership Associates, open to all.

"Memories in Focus"
By: Pinchas Gutter

Tuesday, December 19 at 12:00 PM EST / 9:00 AM PST

Join ASYV and Canadian Society for Yad Vashem as we sit down with Pinchas Gutter, Holocaust survivor and author of 'Memories in Focus'.

Moderated by Shael Rosenbaum, CSYV National Chair.

'Memories in Focus' recounts the harrowing journey of young Pinchas, separated from his family in the Warsaw ghetto and sent through a series of concentration camps starting at only 10-years-old. He fights to stay unnoticed during the war, but his photographic memory haunts him after liberation, leading to struggles with nightmares and emotional scars while raising a family. His journey spans England to Canada via various countries as he seeks belonging and eventually finds it in Canada.
This poignant narrative delves into suffering, injustice, and trauma, offering hope for the future. Today, Pinchas Gutter remains an active member of his community, serving as a synagogue cantor and sharing his story.

Follow the link to register for the event: https://tinyurl.com/t8ejjsuf