AMERICAN AND ISRAELI TEENS HONOR HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS "There is no better way to honor all Holocaust Survivors than what you are doing here today."
Those words were spoken by Joanne Caras, author of the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook, to a group of Israeli and American teens who came together at the Mid Island Y JCC in Plainview, New York on August 26th. The group worked for hours preparing food from recipes found in the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook, and then delivered the food to house bound senior citizens in the Plainview area. The teens are all part of the Crossing Borders program, which brings together Israeli and American high school students each summer to live and learn together. "This year we had 12 students form Jerusalem come to New York to live with their American hosts, and next year our group will go to Jerusalem," said Caroline Kuschnitz, teen supervisor for the Mid Island Y JCC. "This is our third group, and the program has been a huge success." The group visited many of New York's landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Jewish Heritage Museum. It was at the museum that the students learned about the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook. "The students thought it would be a great idea to make recipes from the cookbook and bring them to senior citizens", said Hadass Rozentsvig, who is the project director in Israel. "They wanted to give something to those in need." The Holocaust Survivor Cookbook contains stories from Holocaust Survivors from all over the world, along with their family recipes that might have been lost if the Survivor had perished.. Proceeds from the cookbook go to the Carmei Ha'ir Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem, which feeds 700 poor Israelis every day. "By using the cookbook to help feed poor Israelis we are allowing the circle of life to be completed for these brave survivors", Joanne said, "and these students are are helping us to accomplish our goal." After they finished cooking the group heard from Rachel Epstein, a Holocaust Survivor whose story is chronicled in the Holocaust Survivor Cookbook. Rachel and her brother were hidden by a Catholic family for years after their parents were killed by the Nazis. Her emotional story brought several of the students to tears. Shmulik Bumvolk translated Rachel's story for the Israelis. "I wanted to make certain that they understood every word," he said, "because they saw today that the Holocaust is not just a historical event. It has real people whose lives were changed forever." Joanne Caras added "These young people must be the ones who carry the message to the next generation to make sure that the Holocaust is never allowed to happen again." For more information about the Crossing Borders program please contact Caroline Kushnitz at 516-822-3535 ext 324. Holocaust Survivor Cookbooks can be purchased on line at www.survivorcookbook.org Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
