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06/08/2018
IHRA and the working definition of antisemitism
Unless you are on summer holiday somewhere remote without wifi or communication with the outside world you would doubtless have heard numerous newsreaders and commentators recently make reference to IHRA and the working definition of antisemitism ... and the furore over Labour’s reluctance to adopt the definition and its examples in their entirety. So, what is IHRA? The acronym stands for The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, an organisation which unites governments and experts to strengthen, advance and promote Holocaust education, research and remembrance and to uphold the commitments to the 2000 Stockholm Declaration. There are 31 members countries represented including the UK, which was one of the three founding nations, led by Lord Eric Pickles. Among the delegates for the UK are AJR's Chief Executive, Michael Newman and AJR's Head of Educational Grants & Projects, Alex Maws. And what of the working definition of antisemitism? This was adopted unanimously at the IHRA Bucharest plenary on 26 May 2016 to guide its own...
09/07/2018
A Summer Celebration
AJR were delighted to celebrate their London volunteers at the auspicious German House in Belgrave Square on 2 July, at the invitation of The Deputy Head of Mission of the German Embassy, Tania Freiin von Uslar-Gleichen. The celebration was shared with Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP) to mark their 60th anniversary. ARSP works with young Germans and Poles who volunteer for one year as symbolic acceptance of the responsibility for the consequences of National Socialism. AJR’s intern from ARSP, Julie Manseck, along with two of her colleagues, spoke movingly about what their year of volunteering has meant to them. AJR Chairman, Andrew Kaufman MBE, took the opportunity to thank their volunteers who provide such a valuable and appreciated service to members. While he did not want to single out anyone in particular it was difficult not to give a special mention to two of AJR’s wonderful volunteers who continue...
27/06/2018
Tante Anna remembered at Bunce Court
The Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) is delighted to announce the unveiling of a special commemorative plaque in honour of Anna Essinger at Bunce Court on Monday 25 June 2018. Anna Essinger was the Founder and Headmistress of Bunce Court School. This year marks the 70th anniversary since the school closed in 1948. The ceremony was attended by a number of old ‘Bunce Courtians’ and family-members of Ms Essinger. Anna Essinger was a German Jew born in 1879. In 1933, due to the impending Nazi threat in her homeland, she moved her school complete with its 66 mostly Jewish pupils to safety in England, re-establishing the institution in Otterden, Kent. The new school was called New Herrlingen School, after the school left behind in Germany, but came to be known as Bunce Court. During the war Essinger also established a reception camp for some of the children who came to...
20/06/2018
Ruth Davidson SMP Guest Speaker
We were delighted to welcome Ruth Davidson, member of the Scottish Parliament and leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, to our Scottish Regional lunch today. Ms Davidson spoke about the importance of keeping the stories of our members alive - something AJR are doing through our Refugee Voices and My Story projects. https://youtu.be/OD5qlOct83A
24/05/2018
Ally Sherrick visits
Award-winning children’s author Ally Sherrick was guest speaker at May's Kindertransport lunch. Ally spoke about her new book, The Buried Crown, which resonated with the Kinder members. Ally is pictured here with AJR Kinder members Bernd Koschland MBE and Sir Erich Reich. In this new story, one of the characters is a young German Jewish refugee, Kitty Regenbogen, who has come across to England as part of a Kindertransport and is living with her grandfather, a German Jewish archaeologist in Suffolk, where the story is set. The hero, George Penny, an evacuee boy from London, is befriended by Kitty and her grandfather and, as the story unfolds, the pair of them join forces to save a priceless piece of ancient treasure (the buried crown of the title) which is at risk of being stolen and taken back to Berlin for Adolf Hitler. The story is linked to the real-life discovery...