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  • JCRC of Greater Boston Announces Winners of 9th Annual Holocaust Essay Contest

    (BOSTON) – The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Boston has announced the winners of the 9th annual Israel Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest.

    The theme for this year’s contest was Liberation: From Darkness to Light. Students from Greater Boston in grades 6 -12 were invited to write a 400–800 word essay reflecting on the following quote from Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace laureate and holocaust survivor:

    “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

    The winners of the 2015 Israel Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest:

    Upper Division

    1st place
    Donaldo Jean-Baptiste, Malden High School, 12th grade

    2nd place
    Kaitlyn Rabinovitz, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, 11th grade

    3rd place
    Nicholas Zink, German International School of Boston, 9th grade

     

    Lower Division

    1st place
    Madison Lomax, Tenney Grammar School, 8th grade, Methuen

    2nd place
    Geryes Geha, Timony Grammar School, 6th grade, Methuen

    3rd place
    Ashley Sullivan, Timony Grammar School, 6th grade, Methuen

    Winners were recognized at LIBERATION: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, a community commemoration of Yom HaShoah, on Sunday, April 12th, at Faneuil Hall in Boston. The featured speaker was author and historian David Eisenhower, grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 5-star general who served as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II.

    All winners will receive a trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2015. The first and second place winners in the Upper Division will also be awarded a $1,000 scholarship to participate in the spring 2016 teen heritage March of the Living (MOTL) trip. The goal for MOTL (motl.org) is for young people to learn the lessons of the Holocaust and to become leaders vowing “Never Again.” The MOTL scholarships are made possible due to the generosity of the Kempner Family Foundation.

    The 9th Annual Israel Arbeiter Holocaust Essay Contest is named for 89 year-old Holocaust survivor Israel ‘Izzy’ Arbeiter of Newton, a lifelong rights activist who lost many family members in the Holocaust. Izzy is a past president of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston.

    LIBERATION: FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, the community commemoration of Yom HaShoah on April 12 was presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston (JCRC), with support from Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Facing History and Ourselves, the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and many generous donors.