Perth organisation takes part in overseas International Holocaust Remembrance Day event
The Perth-based WE ARE HERE! Foundation will join World ORT, HAMEC – The Holocaust Awareness Museum and the Education Centre of Philadelphia in commemorating The International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Founder Eli Rabinowitz [front right]
ORT students have already taken part in sessions hearing the testimony of Holocaust survivors and learning the consequences of racism, ethnic cleansing and intolerance.
The event will take place tomorrow Wednesday, January, 27 at 10pm in Perth and at 01.00 on Thursday, January 28th in the Eastern states.
The one-hour program will commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day and will tell more about the impact the survivors’ testimonies have had on our students’ understanding of the past.
Founder Eli Rabinowitz describes WE ARE HEARING saying: “The objective of our WE ARE HERE! project is to promote Human Rights and Social Justice through the principle of choosing to be an Upstander.Our focus is on language, literature, music, film, the arts, and other cultural forms.
We feature the Partisans’ song, long revered by Holocaust survivors, including to this day. The very words embrace the understanding of what it takes to be an Upstander, and not a bystander. The message is relevant today both in the schoolyard, the sports field, and on the internet, to counter cyberbullying.
We choose William Cooper as our ambassador because he was a quiet activist who set out against the odds to protest. William Cooper is a fine example of an Upstander. So are his family, and those who follow in his footsteps! We want the strong message of the Partisans’ Song to reach as many as possible globally in a multicultural way. We need to provide role models for the young, so they know that it is more than OK to stand up for what is right.
Success is not always achieved overnight. William Cooper marched to the Melbourne German Consulate on 6 December 1938. This deed was only fully recognised by the German government in 2017.”
