JERUSALEM/ FILE: Israelis recognise contribution of Holocaust survivors to culture and society at new museum exhibition

Record ID: 723397

  • Title: JERUSALEM/ FILE: Israelis recognise contribution of Holocaust survivors to culture and society at new museum exhibition
  • Date: 1st May 2008
  • Summary: (EU) JERUSALEM (APRIL 28, 2008) (REUTERS) JAKOB ZIM, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, ARTIST AND AUTHOR WITH HIS WIFE RUTH STANDING NEAR ARTWORK MADE BY ZIM DOCUMENT GIVE TO ZIM'S FATHER BY NAZIS EMBEDDED IN ARTWORK (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAKOB ZIM, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, ARTIST AND AUTHOR, SAYING: "I came here because of my optimism. I saw, I saw here was my home." REPORTER ASKING (OFF CAMERA): "Are you optimistic about the future here?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) JAKOB ZIM, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, ARTIST AND AUTHOR, SAYING: "Also. With the whole troubles, whatever. I am optimistic." HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR DAVID CASSUTO, STANDING WITH HIS COUSINS BOOK ABOUT CASSUTO'S AUNT WHO SAVED CASSUTO AND HIS COUSINS IN ITALY DURING THE HOLOCAUST (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAVID CASSUTO, HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR ORIGINALLY FROM ITALY, SAYING: "In 60 years we create things that no people no place in the world created in 60 years. We are here, and we are here, not only for us, but for all the Mediterranean basin. If our neighbours will understand, we will bring a normal benediction to all the people in the Mediterranean basin, and this is very important to understand this because this is our contribution to the world." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE VIEWING EXHIBITION WIDE OF AUDIENCE AT OPENING EVENT FOR EXHIBITION "MY HOMELAND: HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN ISRAEL" AND ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT WALKING TO LECTERN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT SAYING: "We spoke fo their suffering but we didn't speak of their strength. We spoke of their distress but we didn't mention their contribution. We spoke of the poverty in which we left many of them, and didn't stress enough the great power in which they managed to rise from - the eternal depths in which they were - in order to get to the heights to which they led the life of this country." WIDE OF AUDIENCE AT EVENT
  • Embargoed: 16th May 2008 13:00
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  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVA5UU5AG2D0YGEU2BZC57106YKM
  • Story Text: Holocaust survivors are recognised for shaping Israeli culture and society in a new exhibition at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial. Israel observes Holocaust Remembrance Day Thursday May 1, 2008.
    Sixty years after the founding of Israel, a new exhibit at its national Holocaust memorial is celebrating the contributions Holocaust survivors made in shaping the Jewish state.
    The multimedia exhibit at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem tells the stories of 90 survivors of Nazi genocide during World War Two who have made impressive achievements in Israel in fields such as art, literature, science and athletics.
    Among those featured in the exhibit are writer-filmmaker Ephraim Kishon, Leah Gottlieb, founder of the Israeli swimsuit manufacturer Gottex, children's author Alona Frankel and abstract artist Moshe Kupferman.
    Although the survivors lost families, friends, homes and business in Europe, they came to their new country and had a strong influence in creating Israeli culture, Yehudit Shendar, the exhibit's curator and deputy director of Yad Vashem's Museums Division says.

    "You can follow the road of theatre, and the road of film, and design and industry - in every sphere they had a say. They had an impact - an impact is what made us Israelis today with their contribution," Shendar said.
    Holocaust survivors who settled in the newly formed Israel brought along with them character and qualities that helped them make a mark on their new nation.
    Jakob Zim survived the Buchenwald concentration camp. He came to Israel in 1945, met and married his wife Ruth, and pursued his love of art. One of his paintings is on display at the Yad Vashem exhibit. Embedded in the dark artwork is an identity document given to his father by Nazi authorities. His father died in a concentration camp.
    Zim says that despite the hardship he endured, he came to Israel with a hopeful perspective.

    "I came here because of my optimism. I saw, I saw here was my home," Zim said.
    David Cassuto was born in Italy. He says he survived the Holocaust because his aunt hid him, and his cousins. They have written a book about her life.

    "In 60 years we create things that no people no place in the world created in 60 years. We are here, and we are here, not only for us, but for all the Mediterranean basin. If our neighbours will understand, we will bring a normal benediction to all the people in the Mediterranean basin, and this is very important to understand this because this is our contribution to the world," Cassuto said about the contributions Holocaust survivors have made.
    At a ceremony marking the opening of the exhibition, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the contributions made by Holocaust survivors have often been overlooked in Israel.

    "We spoke fo their suffering but we didn't speak of their strength. We spoke of their distress but we didn't mention their contribution.
    We spoke of the poverty in which we left many of them, and didn't stress enough the great power in which they managed to rise from - the eternal depths in which they were - in order to get to the heights to which they led the life of this country."
    Today, some 250,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel -- about half the number that arrived in the country since its establishment in 1948.
    Israel observes Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday May 1, 2008.
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