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24/05/2018
Our folk in Norfolk!
32 AJR members enjoyed a five day trip to Norfolk in May 2018. The holiday was arranged by the outreach department and accompanied by two AJR social workers. Highlights included: Sandringham House, Sandringham Church and Sandringham Museum; Felbrigg Hall, an award winning National Trust Property; Norwich Cathedral; a boat trip on the Norfolk Broads; a steam train through the beautiful countryside, and a visit to Sainsbury’s Visual Arts Gallery, plus, of course, good food and great company! One of our members enjoyed the trip so much he made this great video for us!
17/05/2018
Our Wonderful Volunteers!
Mayor of Great Manchester, Andy Burnham, was guest speaker at a Thank You event held this week for our volunteers from across the North. Over 50 people attended, including volunteers from Leeds, Liverpool, Bradford, Ilkley, Gateshead and of course Manchester. There were also representatives from partner agencies, such as JVN, The League of Jewish Women, Manchester Jewish Rep Council, Manchester Jewish Museum, and the Fed. AJR Northern Volunteers and Community Coordinator Fran Horwich said: “We at AJR value the dedication of our volunteers highly, and appreciate the opportunity to applaud their work. We were fortunate to have Andy Burnham as our guest speaker. He recognised the impact that volunteers make to the lives of people who are more isolated within our society. He spoke eloquently about the community cohesion within Greater Manchester, particularly in the wake of the Arena bombing, which occurred almost exactly twelve months ago.” Volunteers were moved by...
16/05/2018
Scotland’s First Jewish Heritage Centre
The AJR have awarded a grant to part-fund Scotland's first Jewish Heritage Centre, to be housed in Scotland's oldest synagogue, Garnethill in Glasgow, first opened in 1879. Garnethill district was a focus of refugee activity, especially following the outbreak of the Second World War, when refugees in the protected area of Edinburgh were transferred to Glasgow. Garnethill Hebrew Congregation actively assisted young refugees, providing a hostel in the synagogue grounds for refugee boys. Nearby was a hostel for refugee girls and women and a centre for refugees to meet. A number of refugees studied or taught at Glasgow School of Art. AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman said: "As the nation’s largest dedicated funder of programmes and projects which promote teaching and learning about the Holocaust (TLH) in the UK, the AJR is delighted to support this important initiative to bring a first-of-its-kind Holocaust learning centre to Scotland, and we wish it much success....
10/05/2018
March of the Living
An emotional account from AJR Volunteer Coordinator, Naomi Kaye, of her recent experience on the March of the Living. On Monday 9 April I headed off on an early flight from Luton airport with group G to join the rest of the March of the Living UK contingent. 270 of us, on a pilgrimage through towns, camps and ghettos scarred by the Holocaust in the south and east of Poland. The aim of March of Living International is to build up a full picture of Jewish people throughout Poland's history and the UK made up the some of the 11,000 who were joining in from all corners of the world. There were seven buses in total, each with its own team of people escorting us through our jam-packed itinerary. On my bus Michael Wegier, Chief Executive of the UJIA, was our bus leader, ensuring we were in the right...
11/04/2018
AJR at Buchenwald
AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman addressed guests at the annual memorial for Jewish prisoners at Buchenwald this year marking the 73rd anniversary of the camp's liberation. Speaking in a personal capacity about his great grandfather, who was incarcerated at the camp from September 1939 until his death in April 1941, Michael also voiced concerns about the rise of nationalism and antisemitism in Europe and the threat to accessing historical truth. Michael also praised Germany for being at the forefront of Holocaust education and memorialisation through which families like his have been able to lay Stolpersteine and by its hosting of the IRHA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance).