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ORT’s Day Schools In Former
Soviet Union A Lifeline To Millions

On Tisha B’Av, Remember The Holocaust

A

s we continue to mourn the pass- and vulnerable minority. And although
ing of Elie Wiesel, we also worry
many parents of Jewish children have little
for the future, how will we be
more knowledge of Yiddishkeit than dim
able to remember the Holocaust without
memories of their grandparents’ seder,
survivors and, in turn, how we can remind they still have a sense of the cultural com-
the world of this greatest of crimes
monalities that bind us.
and its consequences?
Half a century ago, Wiesel
But Wiesel’s compassion and
noted that most of the Jews in
insight were not limited to the
the Soviet Union’s synagogues
Holocaust although that is a sub-
were not there to pray “but out
ject vast enough to command
of a desire to identify with the
the attention of several lifetimes.
Jewish people — about whom
Rather, he used his personal expe-
they know next to nothing.” As
rience of loss, pain and rebirth as a
vague as it may be, that pull of
lens through which he empathized Dr. Conrad
peoplehood is still powerful and
Giles
with and fought for victims of
finds celebratory expression in
injustice everywhere.
ORT schools’ Jewish Studies pro-
Among them were the third of world
grams and activities, including weekend
Jewry trapped in the Soviet Union. Denied and summer camps and trips to Israel.
access to their heritage and made con-
ORT students come home at the end of
venient scapegoats in Cold War regional
the day not only enthused by their schools’
power plays, many Jews lost all connection first-class robotics, science and computer
to their identity save their surname and
curricula but also enriched with Hebrew
the discrimination that it attracted.
and a love of Israel.
His 1966 book The Jews of Silence brought
It is not uncommon for ORT alumni
the plight of the refuseniks into popular
to pursue STEM studies at university
consciousness with its thunderously gentle
before embarking on a career in high tech,
call to action: “What torments me most is
sometimes in the “Start-Up Nation.” And
not the Jews of silence I met in Russia, but
it is also not uncommon for students to
the silence of the Jews I live among today.”
re-introduce Jewish practice in their fam-
There are still nearly 1 million Jews in
ily homes, teaching their parents about
the eight countries of the former Soviet
Shabbat and chagim (holidays) and so
Union in which World ORT operates, but
reversing what had seemed an inexorable
future generations are threatened by inter- slide into assimilation.
marriage rates that are hurtling past the 90
Such an impact is a tribute to the sup-
percent mark, according to some observ-
port ORT receives from Jewish federations
ers — and the silence is deafening.
and friends, such as the International
Twenty years after The Jews of Silence
Fellowship of Christians and Jews. As
was published, 250,000 people rallied in
president of World ORT, I am proud of
Washington, D.C., in support of Soviet
what we do in the former Soviet Union —
Jews, leading to mass immigration to
and in Israel and 35 other countries. And
Israel and beyond. Twenty years from now, I thank every contributor who makes our
there may be precious few left of the 1.7
work possible.
million Jews who remain.
With all the challenges facing our com-
This is where ORT comes in.
munities here in the United States, not to
Through its network of 16 pluralistic day mention in Europe and Israel, it is all too
schools, ORT has built a reputation for aca- easy to forget about the 1.7 million Jews in
demic excellence which, together with its
the former Soviet Union. ORT doesn’t.
superb facilities and career-savvy focus on
But if we are to inspire new generations
science, technology, engineering and math
to live as proud Jews and as independent,
(STEM), attracts thousands of students
contributing citizens, we desperately need
from families who are not affiliated with the more people to support our investment
community. But there is more at play than
in the kind of cutting-edge education that
the headstart in life that an ORT education
attracts families teetering on the edge of
can give ambitious Jewish boys and girls.
assimilation. Without our collective action,
There is no doubt that the countries of
the future of the ORT network in the place
the former Soviet Union provide a more
where it is needed most is under threat.
hospitable environment for Jews, but it
We cannot afford to remain silent.
takes more than a decade or two to eradi-
Dr. Conrad Giles of Bloomfield Hills is president
cate the prejudices of centuries. Parents
of World ORT.
appreciate being able to have their chil-
dren in a safe, warm and nurturing envi-
ronment where they will not be an isolated See a related story on page 26.

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10 August 11 • 2016

T

he month of Av is regarded
Memorial Center. Whenever I speak
as the saddest month in the
about the 6 million kedoshim (holy
souls), I quote from our prayers where
Jewish calendar and is a month
we say to God, “I know we have sinned”
of mourning for us, the Jewish people.
— but the 1½ million children, our
Sunday on Tisha b’Av, the ninth day of Av,
Moishelach, our Suralach who died from
we remember the many tragedies that
hunger, our Binyominlach, our
have befallen our people.
Rivkalach whom the Germans
We remember, we mourn, the
drove into gas chambers, our
destruction of our holy temples,
Yosselech, our Raizelech who
the first and second Batai
were shot in Babi Yar, who
Mikdash that were burned and
were all murdered al Kiddush
destroyed together with their
HaShem, sanctifying the name
holy objects. In the second con-
of God, did not sin.
quest, tens of thousands of men,
As we know, everyone dies
women and children were killed
sometime. When a father, mother
by the Romans just because they Michael Weiss
or family member dies, we have a
were Jews. We were driven out
from our holy country that HaShem, God, levaya, a funeral. We have a grave. But our
6 million kedoshim, our 6 million mar-
gave to us. We were driven out from our
holy city, Yerushalayim. We are in golus, in tyrs, never had a funeral, a resting place.
Their resting place is in a special place in
exile, ever since.
heaven, in gan eden.
That happened more than 2,000 years
When we went through the gates of
ago. Our generation also experienced a
Auschwitz, we could never have believed
Tisha b’Av — what the world calls the
that this piece of real estate will be cursed
Holocaust, the Churban (destruction) of
as the biggest Jewish cemetery in the uni-
European Jewry during World War II.
verse.
Let’s summarize what happened. We,
The 6 million kedoshim of the Shoah
the Jewish people who lived in Europe
800-900 years, obeyed the laws in whatev- must be remembered by the entire Jewish
community, not only by those who sur-
er country we lived in. The Nazi German
vived or who have a direct family con-
governments, with its people, put us into
nection to the kedoshim. And just like we
ghettos, then into concentration camps
remember the Churban of the temples on
like Auschwitz, Majdanek and Buna,
Tisha b’Av, we should also remember the
which were equipped with gas chambers,
Churban of Europe. To forget is to, God
where they murdered our fathers and
forbid, make Hitler the victor.
mothers. They were equipped with cre-
We pray to God and declare that we
matoria, where they cremated millions of
are still your children. Please have mercy
Jews, including children.
We learn in the Talmud that the world over us. Grant us and bring us the final
continues to exist only in the merit of
redemption with the coming of Moshiach
the words that come from the mouths of speedily in our days.
schoolchildren as they study Torah. God
in heaven — the pharaohs, the Hamans, Michael Weiss, a Holocaust survivor, is a speaker at
the Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills,
murdered 1½ million of your children.
and author of the book Chimneys and Chambers.
I’m a speaker at the Holocaust

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