By Deb Smith As someone who never lived during time of the Holocaust, I think that everyone should have an understanding of how and why it occurred. The Holocaust sheds a light on the hazards of prejudice, discrimination, and anti-Semitism and raises important questions about the motivation of people to act or not. It… read more »
My Hero – Janusz Korczak
EAS Blog Post by Deb Smith Children are not future people, because they are people already…Children are people. -Janusz Korczak Do you have someone you look up to? A hero? My hero is Janusz Korczak, and I would like to tell you a little bit about him. First, look at the two Korczak Memorial pictures… read more »
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
By Deb Smith Please read the following and consider participating in the final project. Warsaw was the capital of Poland and a major center of Jewish life and culture. The pre-war Jewish population of Warsaw was 350,000 (about 30 percent of the city’s total population). On October 12, 1940, the Warsaw ghetto was established by… read more »
Resilience of the Human Spirit
By Deb Smith, Program Director, Bearing Witness: Holocaust Education and Advocacy, York JCC/IDEAS Center. During this time of self-isolation and the unknown, let’s discuss acts of resilience of the human spirit. Have you ever heard of Emanuel Ringelblum and the Oneg Shabbat archives? Ringelblum was a historian and community figure in the Warsaw Ghetto of… read more »
What Can I Do?
By Melissa Plotkin Everyday there is a story surfacing about acts of hate and bias in our community. Whether it is property being spray painted, letters in driveways or on cars or even direct hate speech, it surrounds us. There are days where this overwhelms me and other days, it ignites me. I am one… read more »
IDEAS Center Awarded the Diversity Impact Award
Thank you to the York County Economic Alliance for this first-ever Diversity Impact Award. The York JCC (Jewish Community Center) has been an integral part of the IDEAS Center development. Thank you to Elliott and Sue Weinstein for their generosity in its formation. We were honored to be joined by Karen Fitch from the City… read more »