Bernie Kouchel, a’h

It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Bernard Israelite Kouchel, who died on April 9, in Plantation, Broward County, Florida at the age of 85.

Update: Yizkor Book Necrology Database

The JewishGen Yizkor Book Necrology Database has been updated with additional entries.  In the past year, more than 50,000 entries from 55 Yizkor Books have been added, including:

Café Oshpitzin

Please watch this video from our sister institution, The Auschwitz Jewish Center.

VICTORIAN TRADITIONS OF MOURNING – MOURNING BROOCHES

By Ann Rabinowitz

 

Upon reading a posting on the JewishGen Digest by Michael Weigel regarding his great grandmother’s brooch which originated around 1870-1928 in the Roos Bakker family from Terschilling in the Netherlands, I decided to investigate its origins.  The brooch was further posted on the JewishGen View Mate Site and is seen above. 

Apparently, the brooch is a rare example of a mourning brooch which was found throughout Europe as early as the 16^thCentury, but which reached its height of popularity or fashion after the death of Britain’s Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert in 1861 and lasted until she passed away in 1901 and into the Edwardian era.  It was during this time that formalized visual expressions of one’s remembrance of a loved one were found in jewelry and other wearable items for both men and women.

The brooches were made from various materials which were dependent on either the wealth or creativity of the purchaser as well as the materials at hand locally or that could be imported.  Very often jet was the material of choice or some form of black glass or enamel.  The variety of materials they were made from was astounding and can be found discussed on the following site:  http://cemeteryexplorers.blogspot.com/2010/01/victorian-mourning-traditions-fashions.html

In addition to the materials the brooches were made from, very often, they included a lock or braided piece of hair and, in many cases, a painting or tintype photo of the deceased was included in the brooch. The Star of David was not unusual as a decorative design on the brooch and could have been utilized by a Jewish mourner as well as a non-Jewish one.  The following site gives an indication of the enormous selection of designs available to Victorians for these types of brooches:  http://www.morninggloryantiques.com/JewelChatVictJwl.html

On Yom HaShoah, Israel remembers 6 million Shoah victims

From YNET…

Israel is marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Monday with ceremonies and events throughout the country and around the world.

At 10 am Israel came to a standstill for two mournful minutes as sirens pierced the air to remember the 6 million Jews systematically murdered by German Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust in WWII.

Israelis stopped what they were doing and stood in silence as sirens wailed nationwide. People stood with heads bowed in reflection. Traffic froze as drivers stopped their cars and stepped outside in respect for the solemn day.


Israelis in moment of Silence (Photo: Yaron Brener)

The moments of silence were followed by an official memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem’s monument for the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

President Shimon Peres , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and Supreme Court President Asher Grunis are among the dignitaries present at the main memorial ceremony.

At 11 am the Knesset will hold its annual “Every person has a name,’ ceremony during which the names of Holocaust victims are read out by Knesset Members.

In Poland, the March of the Living will kick off at 2:30 pm and three hours later a ceremony will be held at the Birkenau death camp. IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz will lead the march.

The Remembrance Day ceremonies will come to a close with a ceremony at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot (Ghetto Fighters’ Kibbutz) at 7:45 pm.


Holocaust survivors attend ceremonies (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

“The Holocaust will not sink in history’s gaping hole. It is here with us, blazing and real. It echoes as we step on the ghettos’ stone floors,” President Shimon Peres said at a ceremony on the eve of the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Six torches were lit during the ceremony at Yad Vashem.

Peres said, “The Holocaust does not permit us as a Jewish people to shut our eyes and must serve as a constant warning sign to all of humanity. The map of Europe still contains anti-Semitic stains. To our shame there are still those who have learned nothing.

“There are still Holocaust deniers. Crises are again being exploited to establish ridiculous but dangerous Nazi parties. Sickening anti-Semitic cartoons are still being published. The quest for justice and freedom has not ended.”

The president continued, “The enlightened world must ask itself how is it that so soon after the crematoriums’ fire was extinguished, after the terrible cost the Allied Forces paid to subdue the Nazi devil, there can still be an Iranian leadership that denies the Holocaust and threatens a with another Holocaust.
“Whoever ignores a threat of Holocaust directed at one people must know that such a threat at another is the same as a threat against all peoples.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke at the ceremony. “Lately we have witnessed shocking manifestations of violence against the elderly, including Holocaust survivors. There is nothing that contradicts the Jewish heritage and basic human morals more. We shall not tolerate it.”

He further added, “Holocaust survivors are the symbol of revival. They deserve to live the rest of their days in peace, security and dignity. “

Addressing the Iranian threat, he said: “There are those who wish to extinguish our light. Iran openly declares its intent to destroy Israel and is pursuing all means to achieve that goal.” Netanyahu quoted Iranian clerics as saying that “Zionists are microbes and bacteria. The Jews are filthy people who spread disease.”

“It was not said only then, it is being said today. Iran’s ruler today says that ‘Israel is a cancerous tumor that must be removed from the Middle East.’ The murderous hatred that follows our people’s history has not vanished but replaced by a hatred against the Jewish state. What has changed since the Holocaust is our determination and ability to defend ourselves.”

“We appreciate the international community’s efforts to stop Iran’s nuclear program but at no point will we place our fate in the hands of others, not even in the hands of our greatest friends.”

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked worldwide on Jan. 27, the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day coincides with the Hebrew date of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

Click here to read the entire article from YNET.

Announcement: JGS of Cleveland

The Jewish Genealogy Society of Cleveland’s next meeting will be

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

in the Miller Board Room of Menorah Park (2nd floor)


Our Featured Speaker will be

Kenneth Bravo, Immediate Past President
speaking about “Finding Frida”

Ken will explain how using Yad Vashem records, the Internet
and a lot of good luck, helped him find his mother’s cousin who
survived the Holocaust.

Google Art Project to get high-res artworks from NYC’s Center for Jewish History

New York City’s Center for Jewish History is contributing more than 600 high-resolution artworks to the Google Art Project.

Highlights include paintings and works on paper that survived the Holocaust and portraits of Sigmund Freud.

The Google Art Project is part of the Google Cultural Institute. It uses technology to put art, archives, heritage sites and other cultural material online.

To date, it has more than 40,000 objects. Viewers can browse works by the artist’s name, type of work, museum, country, collections and time period.

The Center for Jewish History is home to the American Jewish Historical Society, Yeshiva University Museum and other Jewish organizations.

Click here to read more at Newsday.

French Jews win right to choose their own names

After a historically charged legal fight, Jewish families can revert to their foreign ancestors’ last names.

Click here to read more from the TIMES of ISRAEL.

Irish Jews face uncertain future (as usual)

A community that produced a beloved Israeli president confronts dwindling numbers, but also a rich and largely peaceful history.

Click here to read more from the Times of Israel.

2,000-Year-Old Jobar Syrian Synagogue in Damascus Burned and Looted

From the Forward and JPOST…

The 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in the Syrian capital of Damascus was looted and burned to the ground. The synagogue is said to be built on the site where the prophet Elijah anointed his successor, Elisha, as a prophet. It had been damaged earlier this month by mortars reportedly fired by Syrian government forces. The rebels said the Syrian government looted the synagogue before burning it to the ground, Israel Radio reported Sunday.

Here is a video showing damage to the exterior of the synagogue:

To read more, click here and here.