2 comments about What Time And Sadness Spared: Mother And Son Confront the Holocaust.

1. This is the greatest and most touching memoir on the Holocaust I have ever read. It provides psychological insights into the way the victims felt. Read this!!!!!



2. The main character in this moving book is a teenaged girl, Roma, who is separated from her affluent family and sent to a concentration camp at the age of 16, where she never knows if she will be in the next group of inmates selected to die in the crematorium. Her only solace from the daily horrors is the imagined conversations she has at night, before going to sleep, with her mother. The story of how she manages to survive with her humanity intact and start a new life in Israel makes for gripping reading; I read this book in one sitting. Especially interesting is the epilogue, where she talks about what it felt like to return to Poland nearly 60 years after she left. Adding to the authenticity of the historical details is the fact that Roma's co-author, her son, is a history professor. He writes about the difficulties faced by himself and his mother in writing about her past. Rather than just telling a story, this book addresses the problem of reconciling memory with historical fact, and what it means to write about your past so many years later.

5 comments about Notes from the Warsaw Ghetto.

1. As we each sit in our little world each day perhaps having pity on ourselves. This book should be a guideline to keep us from self-pity. The author fairly reports from diaries gathered throughout the Holocaust Horror. He does not only blame Nazi Germans but Jewish Police. This is a bold, honest reflection into the eyes of children, adolescents, parents, as they were waiting for their fate. This book made me smile about humanitarism even when they truly did not have alot to share. This book made me scared for what the power of humans can do to weaken spirits. It made me cry to realize the horror they felt. I cheered hoping the author would go unharmed. I wept when I realized a man and his family perish because of a cause they firmly defended. True heroism.

   Unquestionably, this is one of the best written books I have read pertaining to the tragic historic event. It is an easy reading book however, it is hard to put down once you start.

   I will cherish my book always.




2. This book presents a factual chronological statement on the conditions, daily tribulations, and perils of the Warsaw Ghetto. It is written in a documentary style rather than an emotional diary, thus providing a basis to compare and contrast against other "diaries". THIS SAID, it is a moving statement on Warsaw Jewry and their ability to overcome impossible odds, eventhough the overwhelming majority perished. The plethora of historical revisionists that now claim the Holocaust was a hoax must FIRST contend with "Notes"( aginst which they will lose). A truly powerful work.



3. It is a little-known fact that, during the first two or more years of the German occupation of Poland, Jews were treated better by the Germans than the Poles. Emmanuel Ringelblum alludes to this (March 25, 1940; pp. 24-25), when Poles felt safer masquerading as Jews! Also (August 6, 1940, p. 45): "True, they [Jews] were beaten; but Poles were shot. True, Jews are impressed into work; but Poles are sent out of the country to work...Jews were deported from Cracow in the course of several weeks, Poles in a few hours." (p. 45). Also (January 22, 1942): "The question of who is worse off now, the Jews or the Poles, is often discussed." (p. 248).
   
   Many Holocaust films exhibit a simplistic hagiography of Jews and demonization of Poles. In contrast, Ringelblum appreciates the diversity in the conduct of members of both groups, which can be summarized as follows (April 26, 1941): "[I] heard the opinion expressed that war reveals the best and the worst in people. It's like a high fever, in which everything is clarified. On the one hand, some Christians offer to help the Jews; on the other hand, bestial anti-Semitism; on the one hand stony hearts [among the Jews]; on the other, devoted self-sacrifice to aid those suffering from hunger." (p. 157). As Jews were being ghettoized, Poles showed sympathy in some locations and not in others (p. 45). The same holds for exploiting vs. helping Jews with regards to post-Jewish properties (pp. 51-52).
   
   Polish hoodlums' attacks were not limited to Jewish victims: (February 27, 1941): "On the other side of the Jewish graveyard, young Poles have formed bands that attack Christians as well as Jews." (p. 127). Sometimes Poles came to the defense of Jews under attack by Polish hoodlums.
   
   Ringelblum mentions positive Polish attitudes and helpful Polish actions towards Jews many times (p. 21, pp. 51-52, p. 64, 66, 91, 137, 152, 199, 216-217, 322-323). In terms of generalizations, at least some Jews believed that most local Poles were good to the Jews (May 15, 1941): "The Catholics displayed a far-reaching tolerance...Mr. Isaac estimates the percentage of saintly gentiles in Starograd at 95 per cent." (p. 170). Polish organizations are credited with doing away with Polish blackmailers (October 15, 1942; p. 322).
   
   Ringelblum alludes to the Germans' torching of a synagogue in Lodz and then blaming the Poles for it in an attempt to divide Poles and Jews (p. 39). He also never loses sight of the fact that Poles were also victims of the Germans. He discusses the privations and mass murders of Poles, notably of the Polish intelligentsia, numerous times (p. 21, 26, p. 30, pp. 38-39, 137, 145, 154, 169, 259, 288). The Poles realized that they were "next" when they saw the Jews ghettoized (p. 91).
   
   All illegal acts had to be conducted away from the prying eyes of the Germans and their informers of various nationalities. Ringelblum spoke of Jewish informers (p. 251, 339-340), Jewish Gestapo agents (p. 182, pp. 280-281), and the search for Jews hiding within the ghetto (December 14, 1942): "In 90 percent of the cases it was the Jewish police who uncovered the hideouts. First they found out where the hideouts were; then they passed the information along to the Ukrainians and Germans." (pp. 340-341). Ringelblum doesn't mention the fact that Jewish agents, specially trained for the unmasking of hideouts, were also sent to Polish urban areas, and into fields and forests, in order to uncover Jews hidden by Poles.
   
   A recurrent theme in Ringelblum's diary is the avariciousness of both the Polish Blue Police (Policja Granatowa) as well as the Jewish ghetto police (e. g., p. 145, pp. 154-155). Also (May 25, 1942): "As a result, a smuggler has to buy off four parties: Polish, Jewish, and German policemen, and now civilian agents as well." (p. 278).
   
   In common with other chroniclers, Ringelblum's harshest criticisms are directed against fellow Jews (September 22, 1942): "The Jewish police had a very bad name even before the resettlement. The Polish police didn't take part in the forced-work press gangs, but the Jewish police engaged in that ugly business. Jewish policemen also distinguished themselves with their fearful corruption and immorality. But they reached the height of viciousness during the resettlement...And now people are wracking their brains to understand how Jews, most of them men of culture, former lawyers (most of the police officers were lawyers before the war) could have done away with their brothers with their own hands...Very often, the cruelty of the Jewish police exceeded that of the Germans, Ukrainians, and Letts...For the most part, the Jewish police showed an incomprehensible brutality." (pp. 329-331).
   
   Owing to the actions of the Jewish ghetto police, a relatively small number of Germans and their Ukrainian and Baltic collaborators sufficed to send over 300,000 Warsaw Jews to their deaths at Treblinka (October 15, 1942): "Why could 50 S. S. [SS] men (some people say even fewer), with the help of a division of some 200 Ukrainian guards and an equal number of Letts, carry out the operation out so smoothly?" (p. 310).
   
   During the actual extermination process, there was the Jewish outcry over the fact that the world was not doing anything to stop it. But even what later became known as the Holocaust was at first contextualized by Ringelblum (June 25, 1942): "Why should the world be shaken by our suffering when rivers of blood are spilled daily on every battlefield? In what respect is our Jewish blood more precious than that of the Russian, Chinese, English soldiers?" (p. 296). Ringelblum concluded with several proposals for stopping the extermination of the Jews (pp. 297-298).



4. It is many years since I've read "Notes From the Warsaw Ghetto" but it remains fixed in my memory along with Emannuel Ringelblum, who emodies for me the human ideal. In a time and place where death and destruction reigned, a simple teacher, father and husband bore witness to the inhumanity surrounding him. Ringelblum and a few other brave souls, ojectively recorded the daily lives of the inhabitants in the Warsaw Ghetto in considerable detail; describing the planned and enacted starvation, disease (rampant typhoid), the demands of the Germans on the Jewish Council for more and more Jews to be handed over for "deportation" and "resettlement in the East" (in truth the freight cars would carry the deported Jews to death camps of Treblinka and Auschwitz).
   
   His unearthed notes bore witness to the end of Jewish life in Poland and the attempts to maintain the vibrant society that once existed. Ringelblum's notes relate to us that despite the madness that had become their world, and the unknown future they faced, the Jews of the ghetto played music, sat in cafes (without food or drink), educated their children, worshipped, held political debates, prepared young zionist to make aliyah to eretz yisroel, collected arms and prepared to fight back. When the age old question arises; what does it mean to be a human being, I think one need look carefully at the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto to see how humanity can and does flourish despite the evil surrounding it.



5. After I read the book "Diary of Mary Berg" I was so intrigued that I looked up some of the other books that are referenced in the "Diary of Mary Berg". I bought 3 more books from different authors that lived in the Warsaw Ghetto and I have been very pleased with these books because they deal more with the uprising in the ghetto then the diary does. The stories are very emotional and heartfelt. I am not Jewish but I was just as eager to learn from these books about the history of that time. I encourage everyone who may be interested to read this book or others like it to get a better understanding of what life was like in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.

5 comments about Defining Moments: Stories of Character, Courage And Leadership.

1. Few books capture the moments and thoughts of great people, this book embraces leadership and courage of some the greatest individuals society has known. The perspective defined from Gordy's unique position in being directly involved with these individual, this is a must read for everyone!!



2. It is an absolute compliment when I describe the author as the "Forrest Gump" of Jewish philanthropy. This book captures history as it happenned. His story-telling is second to none and the people Mr. Zacks has met during his lifetime and shares with us in his book are icons worthy of deep review and study. An easy read, but more on point is to call it an important read.



3. Zacks' book is a rare and intriguing chronicle of his travels and doings amidst the greatest and most courageous leaders of the last 50 years. Indeed, while Zacks says the book isn't supposed to be about him, he actually does end up doing his own moving and shaking around the world, helping to forestall wars, release prisoners from unjust sentences, and help the burgeoning state of Israel survive and grow.
   
   You'll see a personal side to Reagan that is unknown to many. You'll see that George Bush, Sr. is a man of strong moral stature who worked hard to earn Gordy's trust and respect. And you'll get to see through the eyes of Israeli leaders as they build a country out of virtually nothing.
   
   If you're at all interested in how the world works, and how people can change it for the better, this is a book you must not let slip through your fingers. It'll open your eyes and help you realize what kind of leadership we NEED to see today.



4. In "Defining Moments," Gordon Zacks clearly shows how some men and women, whom he met during his life, have made a significant difference by paying forward and in the process transforming the world into a better place. Zacks came to the conclusion that these individuals with very different backgrounds share at least three traits: character, courage, and leadership. Most people - it is sad to say - live unfulfilled lives according to Zacks. Most men and women do not have the character and courage to act upon the moments of opportunity that arise to make the world a more hospitable place.
   
   Not everybody can live up to the high standards that Zacks sets for himself for a variety of reasons, good and bad. Zacks seems to underestimate the aggregated power of many small, accessible steps that can ultimately lead to far-reaching changes. For example, a (potential) consumer boycott of select products made in China could spur the Chinese government, an important investor in Sudan's oil industry, to seriously pressure its Sudanese counterpart about the ongoing genocide in Darfur. There have been enough windy talks on this subject over the last few years.
   
   At the end of his book, Zacks gives readers an exercise that can help them lead what he considers a fulfilling life. Alternatively, readers can compile the lessons learned that Zacks mentions at the end of each chapter and look for the common themes beyond the three traits mentioned above. Whoever is given the opportunity to talk to Zacks and listen to his stories, will not be wasting his time. Zacks is a great communicator.



5. Gordon Zacks describes his life experiences with world leaders and how these leaders demonstrated the art of diplomacy, performed great acts of courage with exceptional moral character. The profiled leaders did the right thing in very difficult conditions rather than follow public opinion polls.

5 comments about The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century.

1. This book is a reasonable and sincere attempt to deal with a difficult problem -- how to preserve Jewish culture in an era when the pace of Jews' assimilation into their home societies is accelerating.

   Among its better points, it tries to grapple with defining the essence of what it is to be Jewish, especially if one is to be inclusive of secular and agnostic Jews such as Prof. Dershowitz himself. He shows that Judaism includes many principles and practices, but that many of these are either shared with other groups, or not practiced by some people who nonetheless consider themselves Jewish. So it's hard to say that the content of any of these principles or practices is the distinguishing content of Judaism. His discussion of this is very illuminating, I think.

   Ultimately, he comes up with the distinction that the common essence of Judaism is procedural rather than substantive -- it is a *way* of dealing with changes and differing opinions, rather than a specific set of principles or doctrines (content). The distinction he attempts to draw is one familiar to lawyers, but perhaps less so to others, and might be a bit of a let-down to many.

   Prof. Dershowitz also defends the principle that being Jewish should be a matter of self-identification. Along the way he points out the contradictions between, on the one hand, the ultra-Orthodox view that religious law has been fixed since the time of Moses, and, on the other, their position that a child's religion follows his or her mother's (opposite of what is set forth in the Old Testament). It isn't clear, however, whether his liberality would also apply to someone who neither had a Jewish parent nor went through a conversion procedure -- maybe someone should ask him.

   It probably will be difficult for any reader, Jewish or not, to identify with all the issues he tries to deal with along the way to reaching this result. For example, I personally found his discussion of religious ceremonies for agnostics and atheists a bit mind-boggling. But while I don't fall into either of those categories, there are many people who do and who also consider themselves Jewish. For this reason, I understand why he'd discuss this and similar topics.

   There are a couple of pertinent things he doesn't mention, especially when it comes to intermarriage. (I speak from the POV of a committed Jew married to a non-Jewish woman.) One is that many modern Jews are turned off by the exclusionary language that is found in many Jewish religious texts (written, for the most part, thousands of years ago or under circumstances of violent persecution by non-Jews). If you find it hard to believe that the Jewish G-d or supreme power is really different from that of a sincere Muslim, Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, etc., it's harder to swallow the absolute necessity of marrying a Jewish person, especially when Jews make up less than 3% of the US population and less than 0.2% of the world's.

   He also doesn't mention that it's possible to convert children to Judaism without necessitating the conversion of a non-Jewish parent. Sometimes the non-Jewish parent doesn't have the personal conviction to warrant a sincere conversion, but nonetheless strongly supports the idea that children should have an unequivocal identity as Jewish. (Maybe this is easier to do when that parent has a strong ethnic but weaker religious identity, as is common with many people from Japan, China and some other East Asian countries. Negotiating Jewish and Japanese identities within a family, for example, might be easier than negotiating simultaneous Jewish and Christian ones. Of course, there are some committed religionists in East Asia too.)

   I've got to agree with the reviewers who mention Prof. Dershowitz's frequent self-aggrandizing comments as one of the truly irritating features of the book. From having heard him speak almost 30 years ago, I'd guess this is one of his more enduring traits (not that other trial lawyers are significantly more modest). His use of jokes bothered me less, though they mostly come from one source (Jewish Humor, by Joseph Telushkin, which relates many of them in an overly abbreviated, and therefore flat, manner). So if you know that book you'll have heard 'em all before.

   But I disagree with reviewers who suggest that Prof. Dershowitz is racist or feels Jews are better than other people. I think that's a misinterpretation, though his self-aggrandizement doesn't help get his sincerity across. He's candid about his divided feelings about his son's intermarriage, but I think he recognizes that it's possible for a human being to have inconsistent or contradictory feelings inside themselves. I might not agree with him on every point, but think it's to his credit that he deals with the intermarriage issue from the standpoint of publicly examining his own personal ambivalence, rather than adopting some doctrinaire point of view (which he makes fun of later in the book).

   For the most part, he's grappling with a very legitimate issue: As a tiny minority who find themselves in an open, hospitable home culture, there's a strong attraction for Jews to thoroughly assimilate into that home culture. Over the course of a few generations, such assimilation makes it easy to lose the distinctive culture from their past. Prof. Dershowitz feels that there's a lot of merit in the Jewish cultural heritage, at the same time that he's an enthusiastic supporter of the open society that creates this dilemma. My impression is that he'd like for Jews to participate fully in that society while also retaining something particularly Jewish.

   I think that most ethnic groups in the US face similar issues about integration vs. identity, though there are some unique aspects that complicate Jews' attempts to accomplish this goal, just as other ethnicities have their own unique circumstances to deal with. In the case of Jews these issues include (i) blending of culture with a religious heritage that's different from US majority, and (ii) relative lack of distinguishing physical or linguistic characteristics. I think his book is a sincere attempt to help a Jewish audience deal with this difficult conundrum.




2. Dershowitz conveys a genuine worry that Jewish people will lose their identity in the years to come. He is concerned about Jewishness getting lost in the struggle and furiousness of America. He says time and again in the book that the Jewish people need something to fight against to be great. He did not totally convince me of this. I think there are great Jewish doctors, professors, businessmen and women. Intellectual and business prowess. Isn't that something to be proud of?
   
   I also wish that Dershowitz would have included more examples, perhaps little vignettes of various Jewish people and how they struggle in the world, or perhaps how they try to retain their identity in a fast-paced, sometimes fickle world. This would have been a good direction to take.
   
   On the whole a very interesting topic for a book. Thank you for writing the book Dr. Dershowitz.



3. A well-written easy-to-read book that right on the mark as it tackles one of the most difficult problems in contemporary judaism. As with all of Dershowitz' books, this one is filled with humor, meticulously researched and contains compelling arguments in support of his view that organized judaism is failing to provide the proper educational foundation to ensure the continuation of reform and conservative judaism in the USA.
   
   Even if you, like me, do not share Mr. Dershowitz' orthodox background or left-wing politics, don't let that deter you from reading this excellent book.



4. 
   Book Review: The Vanishing American Jew
   
   By: Alan M. Dershowitz
   Review By: Joshua W. Delano
   
   
   
   Alan M. Dershowitz uses his keen intellect to delve into the issue of The Vanishing American Jew with the same vigor and attentiveness he has applied to his storied criminal defense practice. Dershowitz makes a case that the prominent threat no longer lays within institutional anti-Semitism in America. Instead, he points out the threat to Jews and their way of life by assimilation. No longer do the Jews have to be united against a common enemy such as the Nazism of the Holocaust generation or Government sanctioned anti-Semitism. Intermarriage to non-Jews and assimilation into American society is now the primary danger to a people who've survived through so much persecution and toil.
   Some 50 percent of Jews will marry non-Jews, and their children will most often be raised as non-Jews. In Dershowitz's view, the Jewish people will vanish from the planet sometime in the next hundred or so years. The threats to Jews are no longer external by his account. No longer are Jews in danger from the genocidal acts of Hitler or those fringe groups of present day whose threats Dershowitz discounts as marginal. Now Jews are threatened by themselves and the fact that as a people they've accomplished the American dream, becoming assimilated into the mainstream of this country.
   Likely, there is no better person to take on this subject with a unique perspective both of Jewish religion and custom, as well as legal and political activism. Dershowitz has become an institution as well as a magnet to many young legal minds who aspire to greatness by choosing Harvard Law School, where he has enjoyed a successful tenure.
   While dissecting the situation, the author elaborates on points such as Neo-Nazi whites and Nation of Islam anti-Semites uniting in lockstep against the Jews of present day. These threats are what he labels, as marginal and nothing compared to what Jews have faced in the past. He points out when he speaks to older Jewish audiences, he is often, "accused sometimes stridently, of minimizing anti-Semitism and am told that it is worse than ever." They see the glass as not half-full or half-empty, but instead as cracked and unfixable. A sentiment he says is in contrast with the reality of acceptance and notes that Jews are more so a part of mainstream America today than ever before. The author points out that the older generation's identities are so tied up with their victimization, they are incapable of accepting the good news that the situation is improving.
   In comparison, a 1988 poll of Jewish students at Dartmouth College poignantly notes: When asked whether they believed that their Jewish ness would in any way hamper their future success, not a single student answered in the affirmative. Dershowitz considers this the current reality.
   Whereas, the threat from black or Aryan neo-Nazi types is marginal, Dershowitz explains that the greater threat is that of the Christian right. Many Jews that convert to Christianity are not doing so per se, but actually converting to the American mainstream. At the present time Conservative Jews and Christians are uniting for many political causes and moving along at proficient level in policy and coalition building.
   Though the author views this as a threat, it is hard for me to see it as anything other than the greater good. While Dershowitz calls it assimilation and a threat to group identity, I do not see it so cynical. Perhaps he has the wisdom and advantage of his years to have built upon his cynicism, but I see it in an ideally good way. Unity is a good thing, is it not? He refers to it as assimilation and a threat to the Jewish people and religion, I see it as all of God's people coming together for what is right, good, and just.
   Mr. Dershowitz points out that his own son married a Catholic young lady, causing some unrest with his mother. He was happy, and is now with the outcome, although bothered in some ways internally. Though, Dershowitz's mother was a harder sell, requiring the consult of a Rabbi to find out why her grandson was "doing this to me." In the end all was well and Dershowitz lists some ways of handling these situations for Jews whose children intermarry. He urges that Jewish parents should be supportive, loving, and inclusive of the new spouse. Likewise, as in the case of his son, he recommended being positive and inclusive in the celebration of their Jewish identity.
   This is what Dershowitz emphasizes as an essential aspect of maintaining Jewish identity and Jews as a people in America. Emphasizing the positive aspects of Judaism rather than always being so clannish and cynical. Numerous times however, Mr. Dershowitz uses humor in his book to emphasize the perceptions and misperceptions both of Jews as well as the anti-Semitic world view of those who are not Jewish. In his analysis, Dershowitz opines, "Judaism must become less tribal, less ethnocentric, less exclusive, less closed off, less defensive, less xenophobic, less clannish. We jokingly call ourselves "members of the tribe" (MOTs), as if to remind us of our tribal origins. Tribalism may be easy to justify when others treat us as a tribe, as they long have. But it becomes anachronistic and antagonistic - to behave like a tribe when others treat us like part of the mainstream."
   In some aspects of the text, Mr. Dershowitz lists the sentiments of many Jews which the reader may confuse as the author's. As a seasoned defense attorney, he is always the epitome of a devil's advocate. In The Vanishing American Jew, Dershowitz weaves facts, perceptions, misperceptions, and myth as he makes his case for which modus operandi should be utilized to preserve Jewish identity in America. Jokingly, Dershowitz mentions that most Jews want their children to: be Jewish but not too Jewish, want their children to be observant of High Holidays, but not too observant, want their children to pray, but not too much.
   One point I'd agree with Dershowitz on undoubtedly would be that there has to be a balance. He concedes that Jews must maintain their culture and religion without being clannish. Also, that Jews should assimilate into mainstream America to the extent that they should still be observant of their identity as Jews. Likewise that Jews of the present and in the future should maintain the religious connection passing on the Jewish culture and customs to future generations.
   Mr. Dershowitz does a great job of weighing all perspectives and getting down to the problem at hand. The laborious analysis and supporting argument for maintaining and prolonging Jews into further generations gives the reader a sturdy foundation with which to come to a conclusion. While looking to the future, Dershowitz recalls from his own past as well as historical input to show that Jews must not forget who they are, where they've come from, and where Jews as a people are headed.
   This issue in my eyes of course will be slanted by my being both a Gentile and a Christian, albeit a Monotheistic one. I view Judaism and the Jews as God's chosen people and the need for their survival as a people is very important. In the book Dershowitz uses historical analysis and Judaism as a religion as his vehicle for convincing the reader of his cause and his case. At the same time, he takes a more intellectual and humanistic approach as to the reasoning behind his argument, only supplementing it with the religious aspect to appeal to all Jews in the Orthodox to Reform-liberal strata.
   It is obvious he believes in the importance of maintaining the religious aspects but seemingly he puts too much of a humanistic focus on the crisis to suit my palate. If God has seen Jews through all these years, why can Dershowitz not trust in God that He will see them through until the coming of the Messiah? I of course have faith that God will see Jews through because they are His people and they shall not depart from the earth as a people as Dershowitz predicts.
   Dershowitz makes a great case and if you are thinking along humanistic terms and don't have any faith in God then this book is great. However this is the main shortcoming in that God is still all those things that we've attributed to him including, omnipotent. While Mr. Dershowitz's perspective isn't altogether wrong from my vantage, he doesn't see with the same eyes as I do, or from the same heart. I enjoyed his refreshing outlook on what he says is an over hyped threat of anti-Semitism in our day and time. Though it exists, I, as the author also feels, see this as something that has been much blown out of proportion. In our society there always remains a fragment of the population who will be oversensitive and read into things and see that which isn't there. Always, will there be among us those who are ignorant, bigoted, and uneducated.
   On the other hand, as time passes not only can you describe societal norms being that of tolerance and acceptance but of that of unity and brotherhood to some extent. People will always be self interested and those who hate or are uninformed to the point of bigoted stupidity will eventually become marginalized over time. Jews and Christians as well as all races will, as I feel we are for the most part now, come together in consensus on many subjects and sentiments. This is why politics in America has had to become inherently centrist, since extremes exist but those moderate among us make this country work. America is a progressive country, which Dershowitz points out has been the most congenial to Jews, more so than any other host country in the past.
   America was founded upon much bloodshed and treachery, even racism, though the positive attributes reflect the good of this country which has for so long welcomed so many to this country. The most important attribute to me and to Jews, as well as all people is not some PC baloney of this socialistic enlightenment period we live in but the saying engraved on our currency, "E pluribus Unum." While all of this sounds over idealistic and patriotic, I'm just pointing out that all thing work together for the good. God watches out for the Jews, in my opinion primarily, as they are His people, His children. I see myself as adopted and glad to be so by His grace and mercy. All of this is said not to preach or get theological, but to show my opinion of this case made in the book, that Dershowitz is well-intentioned and even correct on what he suggests to solve this problem. However, it is my thought, although I've been told that Jewish people, "don't do faith," as one good Rabbi friend of mine told me, that God is still the God who parted the Red Sea, helped Joshua, Daniel, David, and Job in their time of need. All I might add to victory. God will still see the tribe of the Lion of Judah through to the end.



5. This book is to be commended for recognizing a real problem. The American - Jewish community is declining in numbers. It is an aging community, one with high- rates of intermarriage, and low rates of fertility. It is a community which is an increasingly small percentage of American society as a whole.
   Why is this important?
   I think that there are two answers, one for Jews and another for American non- Jews.
   Jewish communities have thrived in various places in the world, and then disappeared. The American Jewry community is an especially important one for the Jewish people historically especially in its relation to Israel and the Jewish people as a whole.
   As for the second reason, I would maintain that for general American society the survival and thriving of an American- Jewish community is important because this community has made great contributions to American life in many different areas, and as on the whole been a great creative factor in the shaping of American civilization.
   In considering the situation of American Jews it is necessary to understand that the challenges and character of American life are different from those that the Jews have known elsewhere. Only in America have Jews been given a kind of access and acceptance which in our own time means that there is virtually no discrimination against them. It is because America accepts the Jews, and adopts so much of what is Jewish as part of itself that assimilation happens so readily in the United States.
   Clearly to preserve its own tradition and way the Jews of America have to ( This is Dershowitz's major recommendation) greatly increase the quality and quantity of Jewish education. Sadly most American Jews are very ignorant about their own traditions. And one encouraging element in American - Jewish life is the intense return to Jewish learning by a certain minority of the population.
   Clearly learning to understand what the Jewish community and its history is , is central to preserving Jewish identity.
   Another point. Since the publication of Dershowitz's book there has been a dramatic increase in world-wide anti-Semitism. This often takes the form of Anti- Zionism and is directed primarily against Israel.
   American Jews have in the past played an important role in helping support the survival of Israel. Though support for Israel among the broad American public is relatively stable over the past forty years, and though there is massive Christian Evangelical support for Israel there is also now in the US a strong anti- Semitic, anti- Israel movement which combines Islamic fundamentalists, Palestinian Arab nationalists, those of the extreme right, and perhaps even more alarmingly , extreme left, politically.
   A strong American Jewish community is an important element in ensuring an Israel which can survive in the future.
   In this regard one additional element in strengthening Jewish young people's identity as Jews is through their traveling to and knowing Israel. The special 'Birthright' programs have attempted to do some of this.
   Dershowitz surveys the problem, and shows his heart is in the right place.
   His book is in this sense highly recommended. It should be supplemented however by the works of Jack Wertheimer, Sylvia Barack- Fishman, and others who consider this problem.

4 comments about Hello, America.

1. HELLO AMERICA by Livia Bitton-Jackson is the sequel to I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS: GROWING UP IN THE HOLOCAUST. HELLO, AMERICA begins right where I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS left off...with her and her mother standing on the ship seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time. The book shares her experiences (good and bad) of her new life in America. Of course, she is surrounded by an unfamiliar and seemingly strange culture and language. As she learns English (and the culture), she begins to feel more and more at home in America although life is not always easy. She finds that most Americans just are not interested in hearing about the Holocaust or recognizing her pain and anguish. In fact, some Jewish-Americans seem not to care about the experiences of those in the holocaust. This is what she finds so unbelievable.
   
   The book shares her experiences working, shopping, dating, and learning the culture--for example, she learns that the streets are not always a safe place--as well as her emotional experiences as she still deals with the aftermath of surving the Holocaust while other family members and friends did not.
   
   Probably the most memorable scene of HELLO, AMERICA is when she is sharing her experiences as a first grade teacher in a Hebrew school. The principal--a rabbi--calls her into his office to discipline her for daring to mention the fact that she was in a concentration camp. She explains that the child saw the number tattooed on her arm and asked where it came from. He tells her that she should have lied and said that the number was her telephone number. She is outraged, offended, and shocked..."In my pain and bitterness I wonder, do all Americans, Jews and Gentiles who were untouched by our tragedy and don't even want to hear about it, feel like him? Do they also prefer to believe that the number tattooed on my arm in Auschwitz is nothing but a harmless New York telephone number? Do they also prefer to place me, and all of us with numbers tattooed on our arms, beyond the pale of their world?" (141).



2. This book goes into territory very very few Shoah memoirists have--what the person's experience was like after leaving Europe and arriving in America. I'm glad Mrs. Bitton-Jackson decided to make her memoirs a trilogy, covering all of the important years and events of her adolescence and early years as an adult--the Shoah, the experience of going home after liberation and then beginning the long slow process of leaving home once again, this time of their own choosing, and finally what it was like when she and her mother joined her brother and some other relatives in America. Too many Shoah memoirs never go this far.
   
   Elli has long dreamt about what America would be like, and finds that, while in many ways it really is the land of her dreams and fantasies, it also has a side she never knew existed. She and her mother begin finding out that America is not like Europe, that you can't just leave a basket of groceries unattended on the street while you're in another shop, that you're not supposed to greet anyone on the subway, that it's dangerous to hitch a ride, that they are now expected to keep their tragic pasts to themselves, that people in America throw things away and buy replacements instead of repairing them, and that people just don't want to hear about what they went through or that they were in the camps. The rabbi-director of the school Elli eventually is allowed to teach at has some words with her on one occasion because she told her students the truth about the number on her arm (in age-appropriate language) instead of saying that it was her phone number. She also finds out that relations between the sexes in America are different from Europe's way of doing things, and several times misreads and misinterprets sexual/romantic advances as joking or just a guy trying to be her good friend. It really shocks her to find out how lightly many American young people treat sexual intimacy, and that some American men feel intimidated upon finding out that she's very smart in addition to very attractive, feeling that a blonde can't be both a bombshell and an egghead.
   
   My only small complaint about this book is that it kind of seemed to end without a full sense of closure and resolution, like there could have been another chapter or two to fully wrap up this chapter of Elli's life. And it was a surprise to me that Elli and her mother initially live with her aunt Celia and her husband Martin when they arrive in America; it was never mentioned at all in either of the two previous books that Celia, who appeared briefly in the first book, had survived, or that her husband had survived as well. It seems like a bit of discontinuity there, that something that important, two of their immediate relatives also having survived, should at least have been mentioned in some detail beforehand, so we would have known when they found out these two were still alive, how they found out, and when they got in touch with them again.



3. Livia Bitton-Jackson continues the story of her life after Auschwitz in "Hello, America," the third installment of the trilogy she began with the powerful "I Have Lived a Thousand Years." The year is 1951 and the narrator, whom everyone calls Elli, is ecstatic when she and her mother sail into New York Harbor. Elli wonders, "America, will you be my home? Will you embrace me as a daughter yearning to belong, an equal among equals....?" Although she never attended high school, she yearns to go to college and become a teacher. She also eagerly anticipates a long-awaited reunion with her beloved older brother, Bubi, whom she has not seen in four years.
   
   Elli has painful memories of the past. She recalls with an ache in her heart the last glimpse that she had of Papa in the old country when he was taken away by the authorities, never to be seen again. She cannot forget the harrowing years that she and her mother spent in Auschwitz and in the DP camps. However, her troubles do not end in America. Bitton-Jackson recounts the difficulty she has dealing with a frosty female representative of HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, as well as an employer who tries to take advantage of her. On the plus side, Papa's brother, Uncle Abish and his wife, Aunt Lilly, give Elli and her mother a warm American welcome.
   
   Elli is a greenhorn with an uncertain command of English when she first arrives in New York. She even believed the ship's captain who transported her to America when he jokingly told her that she would need a passport to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. To her, America is a puzzling and overwhelming place, and she is particularly appalled by the conspicuous consumption and waste that she sees all around her. Elli doubts that she will ever feel completely comfortable in this extravagant country, but little by little, she begins to relax and adjust to her new surroundings.
   
   In this fast-paced book, Bitton-Jackson tells about her first jobs, the new friends that she makes, and her tentative steps towards romance. "Hello, America" is suitable for young adults, ages twelve and up. Although it is not strictly necessary to read the books of the trilogy in order, it would be helpful to do so in order to get a complete picture of Livia Bitton-Jackson's fascinating journey.



4. After reading dozens of Holocaust memoirs, it is nice to see a continuation of how survivors adapted to life thereafter, especially as immigrants in America. There is so little said about how survivors adjusted to their new lives, since most of their stories end at the end of the war. After reading her first two books (which are a must to understand her perspective), I was left wanting to hear what happened next after reading this one. I loved the way she wrote about her mother with humor and her I was surprised at how some people she met in America were so ignorant of her plight and culture. It was very informative.

No comments about Elie Wiesel: A Religious Biography.

4 comments about Anne Frank and the Children of the Holocaust.

1. Most people are familiar with Anne Frank's story, but in this book the author has added additional information about other children and teenagers who suffered during the Holocaust.
   Lee does not shy away from the graphic details of everyday life in hiding, during the transports, and in the concentration camps. She describes the fear and horror of those times, but refrains from giving the reader more information than is age appropriate.
   The bibliography is extensive, including standard Holocaust history books as well as interviews and unpublished memoirs. Sources of quotes are not always clear; a timeline and map would have been useful.
   Literature for young adults often concludes with a hopeful note, in spite of overwhelming problems. A quote from Anne's diary ends this book: "I want to go on living, even after my death!" The author paints a picture of friendship, bravery, loyalty, and fortitude. She demonstrates why Anne's diary is a symbol of ultimate victory over evil.
   Books like this will ensure that the one and a half million children who died in the Holocaust will not be forgotten. For those who question whether we need yet another book about Anne Frank, the answer is: decidedly yes.
   For ages 12 and up.
   Reviewed by Anne Dublin



2. Carol Ann Lee has made a bit of a career writing books on Anne Frank and the Frank family. As someone who considers himself a bit of an amateur Anne Frank scholar himself, I can respect this. Fortunately, Ms. Lee is a very engaging writer and does an excellent job with her material.
   
   This time around, Ms. Lee uses the story of Anne and her family as a way to delve a bit more deeply into the events of the Nazi era. She sketches out Anne's story again but she also writes more about the anti-Jewish laws, the experience of the occupied countries and the function of the transit camps, concentration camps and death camps.
   
   She also reaches further outside of the Frank's experience to pull in diaries, memoirs and interviews from other young people who lived (and died) during this period. Anne's diary remains one of the most powerful written expressions to survive that time but the use of this other material adds a different flavor to the prose. In some ways, it deepens the impact to hear the experiences of others in counterpoint to Anne's.
   
   Which brings me back to a question I often ask myself: why bother with these biographies of Anne when her diary is such a strong document? Ms. Lee answers that question well with this book. Scholars today can help fill in the gaps not covered in Anne's diary and add color to her experience by highlighting it with other documents from the time. When the resulting book is as well-written and user friendly as Ms. Lee's, it makes fine additional reading once Anne's diary has been experienced.



3. Unfortunately, so many students today get their entire knowledge about the Holocaust entirely from Anne Frank's diary. With this book by Carol Anne Lee, students will get some of the background necessary to understand this event in history as well as Anne's diary.
   
   Using other materials to document the historical background and to give a different view of events that actually happened, gives a clearer picture of Anne and the events that occurred. The book does give a clearer picture of Margot than we get from Anne's book. This helps explain some of Anne's feelings towards her sister when the actual diary is read. This is not a substitute for Anne's diary; but a supplement to it.
   
   If a teacher had to choose one book to use to teach about the Holocaust, this would be an excellent choice.



4. Reviewed by Anne Marie Medema (age 12) for Reader Views (2/08)
   
   I am impressed that the author Carol Ann Lee has been interested in Anne Frank since she was 6-years-old. Carol Ann Lee has a unique ability to bring the Holocaust and the main character of Anne Frank to life. Carol Ann Lee has lived in Amsterdam, a town where portions of the Holocaust took place. Thus, she was probably able to thoroughly research and to visit the places where the holocaust took place. I have read some of Carol Ann Lee's other books and she is very good with descriptions of characters, settings and places. She also adds historical information about the Holocaust in the back of the book. Some of the things she adds are interesting statistics about the Jewish population before and after the war. Maps showing the areas where the Nazi's controlled Europe are also given along with locations of the death and concentration camps. All these references helped me to link together the chain of events occurring during the Holocaust.
   
   This book includes references of the diary of Anne Frank. The areas which the diary does not include, Carol Ann Lee covers by putting it into her own diary as if she were Anne Frank hiding. Carol Ann Lee also talks about other children who lived during the Holocaust and whose lives were affected by the Holocaust. The mentally and physically abused were used as experiments or were put to death. In some cases the women that were mentally and physically wronged were deprived of having children because the Nazi's only wanted purebred healthy children. The anti-Nazi children were normally hidden or if discovered by the Nazi's were killed or died while working for the Nazi's. The Nazi children at the age of 14-years were enrolled in Nazi Youth. Nazi Youth is where they would learn what is wrong with the Jews. Anne Frank died three weeks before the allies liberated the death camp Auschwitz. Her father was the only family member that survived the Holocaust. Meip Gross is the woman who hid the Frank family for over two years and she found Anne's diary. She hoped that Anne Frank would still be alive so she could hand back the diary to Anne. Sadly Meip Gross was only able to hand back the diary to Anne's father Otto Frank.
   
   This is one of the most heartbreaking books I have ever read because of what the Nazi's did to poor, innocent children. It is also interesting to see what actually happened during the Holocaust. You would definitely want to read this book because it is realistic. If you love history I would recommend that you read this book because it educates the reader about the Holocaust and Anne Frank. Carol Ann Lee makes this story come alive by detailed pictures and words. Dive into "Anne Frank and the Children of the Holocaust" and discover how fortunate we all are to live freely in a country.

No comments about Justice for People: 2 (Jewish Biography Series).

2 comments about Merchant Princes: An Intimate History of Jewish Families Who Built Great Department Stores (Kodansha Globe).

1. This is a great book. It's chock full of history told in an easy-to-read style. Leon Harris reveals the struggles and successes of 12 of the earliest Jewish retailers of America including Levi Strauss, Sears, Roebuck, Neiman, Marcus etc. It appeals to readers on many levels. First it is an historic account of the people whose names have become so familiar as store-names that we have forgotten there were ever people with those names. "Merchant Princes" includes many personal anecdotes about the founders of the stores and their families, retailing practices of yester-year and what these merchants did with their incredible wealth. Told by a Jew, about Jews, it reveals in surprisingly candid ways the ostracism of Jews in this country addressing how this all began. It's a book you can put down and pick up at any point without losing the flow. Jews will love it. Gentiles will be impressed. I was!



2. Ken libo has shown an excellent ability to convey jewish history time and time again.. This book is no exception.. It's very readable, and will not let you down. If you want to concieve the struggles and successes of jews and others in the early twentieth century; buy this book.

1 comments about Sobibor: A History of a Nazi Death Camp.

1. Before reading this book, I had no idea that this type of revolt had been carried out during the Holocaust. The book is extremely detailed, to the point of reminding me of a history textbook. Schelvis has clearly done his research; he makes a point of citing his sources. The end of the book includes an impressive list of all known victims and survivors to go through Sobibor. Schelvis gives a complete history of the camp itself, beginning with its construction and ending with the place's status today. Maps are included as well.
   
   This is not an emotional read. Although Schelvis survived a stint in the camp himself, he barely mentions that experience. Rather, he seems determined to present the facts, the who, what, where, and when of Sobibor. Considering the atrocities carried out there, reading an account of this death camp might be impossible for many were the account not so unemotional. It is not a book I will read a second time, but I am very glad I read it once. Even without emotional drama on the writer's part, the story of these prisoners' refusal to die quietly is both inspiring and tragic. I had sometimes wondered why concentration camp prisoners never (as far as I knew) rebelled. Now I know.