Gathering to
LEARN AND COMMEMORATE
Redication to Resiliency: Yom HaShoah
On June 10th, our community gathered to honor the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, and to rededicate the New England Holocaust Memorial – following last summer’s desecration – in a symbol of our perseverance. Esther Adler (pictured right), who witnessed Kristallnacht and rising Nazism before emigrating with her family to what is now Israel, provided powerful testimony. We recognized this year’s winners of the Israel Arbiter Holocaust Essay Contest, including first place winner Sherley Maximin, a senior at Malden High School, who wrote about her visit to the New England Holocaust Memorial after it was vandalized by a student from her school, and the life-changing encounter she had with local survivors when she was there.
This year’s Israel Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest winners with Esther Adler and Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, center
Ambassador Dermer
15th Annual Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture
On May 7th, more than 400 members of the community joined JCRC and Ambassador Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, for this year’s lecture. Ambassador Dermer spoke on the topic of “Challenges Facing Israel Today,” including ongoing tensions with Iran and special relationships between the United States and Israel.
The annual lecture is named for Connie S. Birnbaum, z”l. who worked tirelessly for an array of organizations within the Jewish community, always with the goal of advancing Ahavat Yisrael – the love of one Jew for the other. Upon her untimely passing from breast cancer at age 48, Connie became a symbol of Jewish unity and the inspiration for an annual event which would bring together Jews from across the width and breadth of Jewish life.
Highlights
Our Work for Immigrant Justice
Expanding our Community of Volunteers
A Vision of Lasting Peace
JCRC Celebrates
Wins for our Community on Beacon Hill
