The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2012 - Page 13
A Life-Changing Experience
When Rebecca Szer graduated
from Ft. Mill High School, her
plans were to study Pre-Medicine
at The College Of Charleston.
Little did she know that by signing
up for a program at the end of her
sophomore year, she would have a
life-changing experience. She
recently told her story at a regular
monthly social of Temple Sold,
where she and her parents, Steve
and Carol, are members.
Rebecca, now a junior, regis
tered for a two-week program
abroad entitled “Tracing the
Holocaust Through Eastern
Europe.” The trip included numer
ous stops in Poland, Lithuania,
and Germany with visits to three
concentration camps, four ghet-
toes, and nine museums/cultural
centers. She was so moved by the
experience that she has already
signed up to be a part of the same
program as a Peer Facilitator in
May of 2013.
One of her most memorable
visits was to Vilnius, Lithuania,
where she learned detailed
accounts of what took place in the
Kovno Ghetto from which her
grandfather had escaped.
“When I read and watched
videos on what took place in that
Ghetto, it made me realize how
much he must have gone through,
how much pain he must have felt,
and how many loved ones he
probably watched die. Only 8% of
the 30,000 Jews in the Kovno
Ghetto survived. Only 8%, and
my grandfather was one of them. I
wondered, how do you go on liv
ing an average life, when someone
took such extraordinary measures
just to give you that life.”
Rebecca said she is very con
cerned that all the people who
were there and experienced the
horrors of the Holocaust are aging
and dying, and that soon no one
will be left to tell what happened.
“It will all be history, and the
problem with history is that peo
ple forget it.” It drove her, she
said, to make a promise to herself,
“I realized that no matter what I do
in life, I have to make sure people
remember.”
In commenting on why she is
Rebecca in Poland.
going back as a Peer Facilitator
next May, she said, “I want to help
people have the same experience I
had so that they will want to pass
on the stories so that they will
never be forgotten.”
When asked about her own
faith, Rebecca said, “I thought the
experience might make me doubt
God after seeing the horror that he
let his people face. But instead, it
Charlotte Participates in AIPAC National
Rabbinic Symposium
By Rabbi Chanoch Oppenheim,
Charlotte Torah Center
A few weeks ago I got a call
from AIPAC (American Israel
Public Affairs Committee) about a
one day symposium for Rabbis.
The idea was to keep Rabbis up to
date with what is going on in
Israel, as well as American foreign
policy—especially concerning
Iran. Many Jews are aware of
AIPAC’s existence but don’t real
ize the magnitude of the organiza
tion; some think that they
(AIPAC) probably rent a floor or
two of office space in Washington,
DC; after all how much is
involved in lobbying for Israel? I,
too, had no idea of how grand this
organization was until I entered
their beautiful eight story building
in the heart of Washington.
The rabbis were from all over
and included all denominations of
Jewry. The terms “Reform,”
“Conservative,” and “Orthodox,”
or any other didn’t seem to have
any significance because we were
all coming for one reason — to
support Israel, one of the few
causes that can still unite Jews of
all persuasions.
When walking into the build
ing, one is met with the stark real
ity of our precarious situation
even in the freedom of the democ
racy in which we live. The securi
ty is more than just a guard, it’s a
bit of a fortress with a system set
up that reminded me of the securi
ty procedure in the Mecklenburg
County jail when one visits an
inmate. We Jews sometimes forget
that there are people who would
rather see us and some of the caus
es for which we stand eliminated
from the world.
There were about 100 rabbis
there and more than 125 others
who participated in the program
via video conference. Seeing this
eclectic assemblage was a source
of inspiration because support for
Israel seemed to trump any other
squabble that exists between the
h A R L 0 T T
Tf»rah
c E N T E R_
movements concerning ideology,
theology, or world outlook. We
were there as co-religionists in
support of a Jewish land that is the
birthright of every Jew; that was a
good feeling.
The full day program included
a number of top tier presentations
but before beginning there was a
slide presentation showing differ
ent aspects of how Israel, being a
democratic state, shares the same
values as the United States.
Commitment to democracy, the
rule of law, freedom of religion
and speech, and human rights are
all core values shared between the
United States and Israel. In stark
contrast to other Middle East
nations, Israel (like America) has
an independent judicial system,
which protects the rights of indi
viduals and operates under the
principle of “innocent until proven
guilty.” Israel also features regu
larly scheduled elections that are
free and fair and open to all its cit
izens, regardless of religion, race,
or sex. Unlike any other Middle
Eastern nation, women are at the
forefront of many aspects of
Israeli society. Israel has always
had at least one woman on its
Supreme Court, and Israel is the
only country in the Middle East to
elect a woman, Golda Meir, to the
position of prime minister.
Although these facts might be
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made me more religious than I had
ever been. It made me gain faith in
my people, and want to pass on
their legacy they worked so hard
to keep.”
On the personal side, she spoke
of the inspiration she received.
She said, “If my grandfather could
live through all that horror, escape
a Nazi Ghetto, live in the woods
for a year, come to America and
build his own successful business
from absolutely nothing, just think
what I could do.”
Rebecca Szer is a talented,
industrious student who now sees
her life as far more than good
grades and getting a degree. She
moved the members of Temple
Sole! with her presentation and
clearly has the capacity to help
“make sure people remember.”
Please join us for services the
2nd Friday of each month at St.
Philip Neri Church, Munn Road,
Fort Mill, SC 29715, beginning in
October. Check out our website,
templesolessc.org or visit our
Facebook page for Temple Sole!
SC.
Temple Sole! is a Reform
Jewish Congregation serving
York, Lancaster, and Mecklenberg
Counties.^
common knowledge to many CJN
readers, the younger generation of
Jews is increasingly less aware of
these things. This point was men
tioned in the excellent presenta
tion of Rabbi Daniel Gordis.
David Makovsky, the Ziegler
distinguished fellow and director
of the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy Project, spoke
about the challenges that Israel
faces in the region. There was a
panel discussion featuring Dr.
William Kristol, (Republican)
founder and editor of the maga
zine The Weekly Standard, and
Ann Lewis, (Democrat) political
advisor who was Senior Advisor
for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presi
dential campaign, which focused
on the upcoming elections. Rabbi
Daniel Gordis spoke, via video
conference, about the challenges
to Jewish peoplehood and the role
of Israel in the coming year.
Ambassador Michael Oren, also
via video conference, spoke about
Israel’s vision for the coming
year. Another panel featured
Ambassador Dennis Ross and
Elliot Abrams on how Middle East
policy is crafted. The final session
featured Leon Wieseltier, literary
editor of The New Republic, who
spoke to the rabbis about the
future of Israel. Each speech was
extremely informative and the
panel discussions were refreshing
ly balanced and respectful.
It was a wonderful day; the fact
that rabbis from such diverse
backgrounds would travel to
Washington just to rally under the
common goal of supporting Israel
was truly encouraging. I was
proud to be part of it as Charlotte’s
representative.^
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