Rabbi Dr. Golinkin. Jews lead Darfur struggle
Photo courtesy of the Schechter Institute
David's father, Noah Golinkin
Photo courtesy of the Schechter Institute
'Get up and do something'
This Yom HaShoah, we remember the efforts of a group of people who struggled to change America’s ‘closed door’ policy during the Holocaust and who serve as a reminder of the power that young people have to change the world
In the early 1940s a group of dedicated young students with almost no resources took on the US State Department to challenge immigration laws, which did not allow Jews trapped in Nazi Germany to enter the US. They called themselves the Bergson Group, and because of their relentless efforts, more than 200,000 Jews were saved from death during the Holocaust.
The Bergson Group sent out 3,000 packets to raise public awareness, wrote letters to congress, published articles, and organized rallies at churches and synagogues in the US to try and force the government to help the Jews of Europe.
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The Bergson Group’s efforts paid off, when in 1944, the US Government set up a War Refugees Board, which was a mechanism to allow Jews into the States and was not controlled by the State Department which, at the time, was widely believed by Jewish groups to be unwilling to aid the Jewish people of Europe.
Getting into the head of your father's rival
On Yom HaShoah there will be a special presentation in Israel of the play "Accomplices” by Bernard Weinraub. The play, performed in English, is running simultaneously in Jerusalem and Los Angeles, and exposes the negligence of the US government to help rescue the Jews from Nazi Germany. It aims to show that only the will of a group of determined young people could raise public awareness of the Jews' plight and change the government’s immigration policy.Leading the cast is Rabbi Dr. David Golinkin, the President of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Israel. This play is close to his heart as both his father and grandfather were involved in a group that in 1943 staged rallies and convinced the Synagogue Council of America to have a campaign to save the Jews.
Interestingly, Golinkin is playing the role of Rabbi Stephen Wise, a controversial leader of American Jewish Zionism, who repeatedly tried to stop the Bergson Group from being too loud about saving the Jews of Europe. Ironically, Golinkin is now spending his hours rehearsing to get inside the head of a man who wouldn’t help his father in the 1940’s.
'You can't sit on the sidelines'
One of the most famous articles published by the Bergson Group was titled "Retribution is Not Enough" and proclaimed the necessity of saving Jews that were still alive. The Bergson Group tirelessly campaigned to save people while they could still be saved instead of waiting around to mourn their deaths.In a conversation with Golinkin this week, he said: "If evil is being perpetrated you can’t sit on the sidelines and say 'isn’t that a shame.' You have to get up and do something about it.
"For instance, take the grassroots movement to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur and Sudan. The biggest groups of activists who are working to save the people of Darfur are the Jews. Jews understand that if you remain silent while mass murder is happening, it will keep happening."
"Accomplices" is directed by Akiba Daube and is running 4/20-4/26 in Jerusalem. The cost is NIS 60 and all proceeds go towards continuing the work that Merkaz Hamagshimim Hadassah does for the Jerusalem community.
