Last January, Federation brought together educators and legislators from secular spaces throughout GMW to travel with community members to bear witness to the atrocities of October 7 and learn about the vast efforts Federation was undertaking in Israel.
On that mission was the superintendent of Hillside public schools, Erskin Glover. Mr. Glover had never been to Israel before and was truly inspired and moved by what he learned during his 48 hours on the ground. He returned to his school in NJ and connected the teachers in his district to the Holocaust Education offerings of Federation. One of those teachers, Meliss Ulrich, applied and was awarded a scholarship to study Holocaust Education in Europe this past summer from Federation.
Upon returning, she applied for her students, again through Federation to take a bus trip with the child of a Holocaust survivor to Washington, DC to visit the United States Holocaust Museum. The students had an incredibly impactful day, one commenting to the second-generation survivor, that he had never been moved by anything as much as her sharing her story.
Another student was inspired to leave the following note, recognizing that she had so much to still learn but her empathy towards the victims of the Holocaust was truly changed:
“It was very sad and a tragedy. I cried my eyes out seeing what the Jewish people went through. I always thought African American slavery was the worst, but the experience I had today was very different. I could never see myself or anyone else going through this. Rest easy to those who have passed. I send prayers to families of loved ones who went through that experience.”
The work of the Jewish Federation of GMW is vast and far reaching.
Learn more about our Holocaust Education department here.