64 | APRIL 21 • 2022
Nice to see you again.
Members of CHAIM
(Children of Holocaust -
Survivors Association In
Michigan) relished their first
in-person opportunity to be
together since 2020 when
CHAIM hosted a re-opening
event, attended by 25, at The
Zekelman Holocaust Center
(HC) in Farmington Hills.
Feiga Weiss, HC’s librarian
and archivist, lectured March
27 on “Discovering Our Roots.”
She brought handouts and
non-circulating reference books
from the library.
“So many people asked
good questions about how to
find information to search for
their family’s roots before the
Holocaust and also about fam-
ily members who perished,”
said Dr. Charles Silow, CHAIM
co-president with Sandra Silver.
“Feiga educated us on the latest
websites.”
Silow founded CHAIM
in 1979 to give children of
Holocaust survivors “a sense of
comfort and belonging.”
The museum’s meeting
rooms display “Portraits of
Honor,” a CHAIM-initiated
project. Anyone connected to
a Michigan Holocaust survivor
may have the person’s photo-
graph included, with wartime
information added to a data-
base.
CHAIM dues are $18 annually. For infor-
mation, email CHAIM2gen@gmail.com or
visit the CHAIM Facebook page.
Teachers are often the unsung
heroes who inspire our chil-
dren to greater heights and
whose lessons often last a
lifetime. The Jewish News wants
to honor the best-of-the-best
teachers in our community
— in elementary, middle and
high school. To nominate a
Jewish teacher or a teacher at
one of Metro Detroit’s Jewish
day schools, send an email to
jheadapohl@thejewishnews.
com with “Best Teachers” in
the subject line. Include the
teacher’s name, school, grade/
subject and why you think
they deserve to be recognized.
Then look for our “Educators
of the Year” in the May 19,
Cap & Gown issue.
(JTA) — Canada is set to outlaw
Holocaust denial, a move that
has the backing of the govern-
ing Liberal Party government
coalition and the opposition
Conservative Party.
The CTV reported that lan-
guage adding Holocaust denial
to the criminal code is in the
must-pass government budget.
Coalition officials cast the
change as consistent with exist-
ing Canadian laws criminalizing
incitement to hatred and pro-
motion of genocide.
“There is no place for
antisemitism and Holocaust
denial in Canada,
” Marco
Mendicino, the public safety
minister, told CTV
.
“That’s why we’ve pledged
to prohibit the willful promo-
tion of antisemitism through
condoning, denying or down-
playing the Holocaust. The
Holocaust was one of the dark-
est chapters in human history.
We must preserve its memory,
combat contemporary antisem-
itism and be unequivocal when
we say: never again.
”
Canada joins a number of
European nations, including
Germany, that have criminal-
ized Holocaust denial.
Michigan Supreme Court
Justice Richard Bernstein,
County Prosecutor David
Leyton, Sheriff Chris Swanson
and Flint Mayor Sheldon
Neely recognized the Rebbe’s
influence in bringing educa-
tion and morality to the fore-
front of public discourse on
the Rebbe’s 120th birthday.
They proclaimed April 12,
2022. to be “Education and
Sharing Day, Genesee County”
and “Education and Sharing
Day, Flint” in recognition of
the crucial importance of ethi-
cal and moral education.
Education and Sharing Day
will bring to the forefront the
importance of morality in edu-
cation, a cause championed by
the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem
Mendel Schneerson, of righ-
teous memory. For more than
40 years, presidents, houses
of congress and local gov-
ernments have recognized
the date corresponding to
the Rebbe’s birthday on the
Jewish calendar as Education
and Sharing Day, honoring an
individual who brought educa-
tion to the forefront of public
discourse.
In keeping with the Rebbe’s
lifetime goals and teachings,
local, state and federal govern-
ments are issuing proclama-
tions recognizing the need to
teach moral and ethical values
to our youth.
CHAIM members relished the chance to meet in person.
CHAIM Welcomes
People Back
JN Educator Awards
Canada Set to Outlaw Holocaust Denial
The City of Flint and Genesee County
Marked ‘Education Day’
ESTHER ALLWEISS INGBER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The proclamation is
signed in Genesee
County.
SPOTLIGHT