On October 28, 2015 it will be 50 years since the seminal document, Nostra Aetate, was pronounced by Pope Paul VI. One cannot overemphasize the significance of Nostre Aetate to the relationship between Jews and Christians. Prior to this time Christian teaching portrayed Jews as archaic and rejected by God, obsessed by observance of the law […]
In the winter of 1938 a young British stockbroker decided to forego a skiing vacation in favor of helping Czech refugees fleeing the Germans. Nicholas Winton would go on to organize eight trainloads of mostly Jewish children bringing them to safety in Britain. A total of 669 children were rescued, and the story only became public […]
In 2013 Israel’s Ministry of Education announced a plan to teach about the Holocaust to students as young as six. Previously only students in grade 11 studied the Holocaust, in preparation for a class trip to Poland. The plan to begin Holocaust education in elementary school and continue it through 12th grade drew a great deal […]
Dr. Ervin Staub said, “Goodness, like evil, often begins in small steps. Heroes evolve; they aren’t born” (Choosing to Participate, Facing History and Ourselves, p. 30). What does it take to make someone a hero? What propels each one of us to become an “upstander” (Facing History and Ourselves), to take the steps from sympathy […]
May is Jewish American Heritage Month Jewish American Heritage Week was proclaimed in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter. In 2006 under President George W. Bush the celebration grew to a full month. See links to the history of Jewish American Heritage Month in our Featured Document section, as well as educational resources and teaching ideas. Watch a video of […]