Israel & Our Community Edition

On the night of November 9th, 1938, the Nazis launched a state-sanctioned attack on Jewish businesses, residences, and citizens of Germany and Austria, burning and damaging over 1,000 synagogues and 7,500 businesses, murdering some 91 people, and arresting 30,000 Jewish males ages 16 and over. This horrific night, which stretched into the next day, would come to be known as Kristallnacht, German for "Night of Broken Glass." On November 9th, the anniversary of Kristallnacht, we remember those who perished and renew our commitment to Holocaust survivors.

Our community is fortunate to be home to the Holocaust Resource Center (HRC), the first and only of its kind in Fairfield County. Housed within the Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County's Bridgeport office, the HRC provides comprehensive resources that foster meaningful research and promote active dialogue to teach and honor the history, eyewitness accounts, and lessons of the Holocaust and to ensure that our local survivors, their families, and millions of other victims will never be forgotten. The HRC collaborates with local, state, and national partners to provide information, events, testimony, exhibits, museum visits, speakers, authors, and programs designed to reinforce ongoing Holocaust education and ensure that the stories left behind are safeguarded as our stories.

The Holocaust Resource Center honors the memory of the Holocaust victims and survivors, shares valuable lessons from history, and builds a more compassionate and just society for all. In honor of Kristallnacht, the HRC will be bringing the Violins of Hope to our community. Join us on November 16th to hear these violins sing their stories of the Holocaust, like the Hecht Violin featured below.

The Hecht Violin Story:

In 1943, as the Nazis began to round up most of the Jews living in Amsterdam, Fanny Hecht, a Dutch violinist, asked her Christian neighbor, Helena Visser, if she would hold on to her violin in case she, her husband, and their two sons were deported. Fanny said, "Mrs. Visser, I want you to take care of my violin, I do not want the Germans to have it, and after the war when we come back, you can give the violin back to me, and if not, the violin is yours. "

Inside the violin's body was the inscription, Antonius Stradivarius Cremona, Faciebat anno 1743, indicating its impressive age and value.

The Hecht family never returned. Fanny and her husband, Alex, were killed in Auschwitz in September 1943. Ernst, age 17, died in Sobibor in July 1943. The eldest son, Fritz, died in Monowitz labor camp in January 1945.

The violin was kept by the Visser family for 74 years until it could be given back to Jewish musicians. When the Vissers heard about the Violins of Hope concerts, they gave the instrument to violinmakers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein so that the violin could play again and tell the tragic story of the Hecht family.

Picture Credit: © Hum Images/Alamy

Early Bird Discount!

Use code VOH-60 for 60% off tickets!

Tickets for students, educators and Holocaust survivors are free.

Purchase Tickets for Norwalk Concert Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16

Meet Leslie Roggen:

HRC Assistant

Leslie Roggen joined the HRC one year ago to assist Shelley Kreiger with organizing the new resource center. Leslie started her career in the Jewish community as an Early Childhood professional at the Central Queens YM/YWHA in Forest Hills, N.Y. She relocated with her family to Trumbull and was hired as the director of the Full Day Early Childhood

Program, After School Program for elementary- through middle-school students, and Summer Camp at the JCCS of Eastern Fairfield County. Being part of the HRC has given her fulfillment after retiring from her life in education.

"As the survivor population worldwide is dwindling, it is imperative to keep the memory of the Holocaust and its victims alive," Leslie says. "Bringing the Violins of Hope is incredibly powerful and can help us keep the Holocaust alive through music and hope for a better future. I am very proud to be a part of it."

Please support the efforts of the HRC with a donation to our 2024 Annual Campaign!

Jewish Federations of North America released the following statement after Tuesday's U.S. election:

"Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump and VP-elect J.D. Vance on their election. Jewish Federations will always work tirelessly to ensure that our Jewish communities flourish. At this challenging moment in our history, we look forward to working with the new administration and Congress to promote our values, fight antisemitism, secure our community, and maintain steadfast support for Israel. After a divisive election, we are working to unite our community at our Stand Together event in Washington, D.C. this Sunday, and set the Jewish communal agenda for the coming year at our General Assembly immediately after."

Statement from JFNA on Israel

There have been dramatic events in Israel this week, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, also from the Likud Party. While the Prime Minister and Defense Minister have led the October 7 War together since its start, the two have reportedly had major differences of opinion on how the war should be conducted, negotiations over hostages, and how “the day after” in Gaza should look, with Gallant generally adopting a more compromising stance. On occasion, these differences have been stated openly.

It was also announced that Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz will take over as defense minister, while former Likud Minister Gidon Saar, who recently joined the government, will become foreign minister, despite his recent years of sharp criticism of the Netanyahu-led coalition. While Katz has decades of experiences in government, he has a very limited military background, leading to strong concerns about his ability to lead war efforts.

Before October 7, during the social-justice protests, the Prime Minister also announced that he was firing Gallant. However, the public outcry was swift and loud, and this resulted in Netanyahu withdrawing the dismissal and reinstating Gallant. Today too, tens of thousands of protestors have been streaming into the streets of Israel. On Tuesday, a very large group blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, the city’s main traffic route, in a spontaneous demonstration. Protesters stopped traffic in both directions, lit numerous bonfires, and erected makeshift roadblocks.

Reacting to the announcement, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that the decision to fire Gallant mid-war was an “act of madness.”

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, whom polls suggest could beat Netanyahu in an election, tweeted criticism of the decision to fire the defense minister during a time of war. He said, “This nation of lions has a sick and crazy leadership. I call on our soldiers on all fronts: Don’t lose focus against the enemy. If you guard us, we, the public, will guard you. Don’t despair, change is coming.”

As a result of the very strong backlash, some political commentators are asking whether Netanyahu may have made a critical misjudgment in firing Gallant.

Jewish Federations will continue to report on major developments.

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