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A Yiddish musical about life in Jewish ghettos during WWII carries new resonance since Oct. 7

(New York Jewish Week) – “Humanity’s most true history is written only in blood. How Jews died, the entire world already knows.” So says Broadway star Steven Skybell at the beginning of “Amid Falling Walls,” a new musical from the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene. “But how Jews resisted against and fought the murderers, we know far, far less.” 

The musical, which opened Monday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and runs through Dec. 10, aims to portray “the indomitable Jewish spirit during the Holocaust through Yiddish song.” Drawing upon the poetry, diaries and songs created by Jews who were confined to ghettos during the Nazi era, the musical weaves together 30 vignettes that detail everyday life in the Jewish ghettos of Lodz, Warsaw, Vilna and elsewhere.

Created by Yiddishist father-son duo Zalmen Mlotek and Avram Mlotek and drawing upon works created in the 1940s, “Amid Falling Walls” has been two years in the making. But after Hamas’ attack on Israel Oct. 7, given the violence, the ensuing war and rising antisemitism across the globe, the production’s messaging has become all the more relevant.

“Obviously, we could never have anticipated such a horrific episode transpiring,” Avram Mlotek, who is also a rabbi, a cantor and a social worker, told the New York Jewish Week. “It just puts the work into a whole different kind of perspective; the idea that the arts and music and song can be these means of spiritual resistance and of nourishing the soul.” 

In one scene, a child asks her mother why Jews are barred from certain streets, parks and areas of town. “The mother gently responds, saying, ‘the Jew haters wish that we don’t have any humanity,’” said Mlotek, 36. “The mere idea that an 11-year-old was able to put that into words is already boggling for me, but of course takes on a special kind of light given the undermining of the Jewish people’s humanity in the wake of this assault.”

“It’s a reminder that that type of undermining hatred is unfortunately nothing new,” he added.  “Every moment is unique, and every human life is infinitely precious, but we have spiritual tools in our people’s toolkit to face these types of traumas. Song and music are at the forefront of that.”

Mlotek, who is credited as a writer and curator, pulled many of the songs and poems that appear in the show from the anthology “Songs of the Ghettos and Camps” collected by Lithuanian poet and partisan Shmerke Kaczerginski after World War II. (Skybell’s opening line is a translation from a Yiddish recording of Kaczerginski speaking about his work.) Another source was the archives curated by his grandparents, Yosl and Chana Mlotek, whose work was digitized by the Workers Circle earlier this year. 

Avram’s father, Zalmen — Yosl and Chana’s son — arranged the music and is also credited as a curator. He has been the artistic director of the Folksbiene for more than two decades and has also produced three albums of Yiddish wartime music.  

The musical weaves together vignettes that portray how life for Europe’s Jews is getting worse — first they are forced to live in ghettos, then sent to work camps. Then, as rumors abound about the war and the Holocaust, resistance groups are formed. The songs’ lyrics address ghetto cabaret performances, of parents leaving their child with a gentile family, of dreams that the world would return to normal. Like every Folksbiene production, English and Russian translations are projected above the stage.

Despite that, the story isn’t necessarily a depressing one — the Jewish people of the ghettos, as portrayed by a cast of eight, fall in love, dance, write poetry and celebrate as much as they mourn. They also built resistance movements, most famously resulting in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April 1943, from which the famous “Partisans’ Hymn” emerged — the show gets its name, “Amid Falling Walls,” from a line in the poem.

“Every song is a world; every song is a window, not just into the authors and the composers but into that experience that it reflects of the Jews and other people who sang those songs,” Avram Mlotek said. “There’s an idea that we are part of ‘the golden chain’ that connects us with our ancestors and with future generations. I’m humbly aware of that connection, not just in my own family, but with a lot of the creators of this material whose shoulders this work is built upon.” 

At a preview production on Thursday night, the atmosphere in the theater was one of delight and hope. “This is something that every Jew should see, especially now,” said Paul Jeser, a Los Angeles resident who came with his wife, Fay. “First of all, the timing of the show, with what’s going on in the world, couldn’t be more relevant. But the show itself is beyond belief — the history, the music, the acting was outstanding, the voices were outstanding.”

Other audience members had similar reactions. “It’s very powerful,” said Judy Gottlieb, a cousin of the Mloteks who came to support the family. “I would have had the same reaction prior [to Oct. 7] because I’ve grown up with a lot of this material, but the recent events makes this even more important.”

“I hope people will see this piece and ultimately derive some chizuk — some strength — from it,” Mlotek said. “Obviously the subject matter is heavy and intense, but there’s real hope in these writers and artists’ words and in the idea that the Jewish people have been here before.”

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The post A Yiddish musical about life in Jewish ghettos during WWII carries new resonance since Oct. 7 appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Germany Presses Main Mosque Network to Distance Itself From Erdogan Ally Over Antisemitism

Ali Erbas, president of Diyanet, speaks at a press conference following an August 2025 gathering in Istanbul, where 150 Islamic scholars called for armed resistance and a boycott against Israel. Photo: Screenshot

Amid a rising wave of anti-Jewish hate crimes, the German government is pressing the country’s main mosque association over its close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urging it to publicly distance itself from his antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.

According to local reports, German authorities have told the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) — the country’s largest mosque network — to formally break with Erdogan’s hateful statements or risk losing government support and cooperation.

“We expect the federal government’s cooperation partners to clearly distance themselves from organizations and individuals who spread antisemitic messages or promote Islamist agendas,” a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Ministry of Interior said in a statement to German media.

For years, the German government has supported DITIB in training imams, as well as helping to foster community programs and religious initiatives.

In 2023, then-Interior Minister Nancy Faeser signed an agreement with the Turkish government’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) and DITIB for a new imam training program.

By sending imams from Turkey and paying their salaries, the Diyanet oversees DITIB and its hundreds of communities across Germany, shaping the ideological direction of more than 900 mosques and influencing the training of their imams.

Under a new program, however, the Diyanet no longer sends imams directly from Turkey. Instead, Turkish students are trained in Germany in cooperation with the German Islam Conference (IKD).

Since March 1 of this year, the Interior Ministry has designated €465,000 in support for the program, according to the German newspaper Die Welt.

With this new agreement, imams live permanently in German communities and have no formal ties to the Turkish government. Still, experts doubt that this alone would curb the Diyanet’s political influence.

In the past, DITIB has faced multiple controversies, with some members making antisemitic remarks and spreading hateful messages.

“The continuation of measures adopted for this purpose, such as the training initiative, will largely depend on DITIB’s conduct and the success of the process,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

The German government’s latest warning came after a conference in Istanbul last month, where 150 Islamic scholars called for armed resistance against Israel, a boycott against the country, and “global jihad.”

Among those attending was Ali Erbas, president of Diyanet, with whom the German government signed the new agreement in 2023.

Erbas has repeatedly made public antisemitic statements, defended the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct.7, 2023, and called for the mobilization of “all forms of jihad.”

“The Zionist regime is committing outright genocide in Gaza. We believe it is haram, or forbidden, to remain silent in the face of oppression. Therefore, everyone can take action. The boycott of Zionist occupiers’ goods must continue,” Erbas reportedly said during the conference.

“We firmly affirm that the Palestinian people have all legitimate forms of resistance against the Zionist occupation, including armed resistance. We also consider it necessary to mobilize the Ummah [Islamic community] for all forms of jihad in the way of Allah,” he continued.

The German government strongly condemned Erbas’s comments, questioning DITIB’s relationship with a public figure whose statements and antisemitic ideology contradict their cooperation agreement.

“These events underscore, once again, the problematic structural and personal links between DITIB and the Turkish religious authority,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

“Cooperation with DITIB requires a clear commitment to the values of the Basic Law, to international understanding, to Israel’s right to exist, and to a firm opposition to both Islamism and antisemitism,” the statement read.

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EU Targets Israel With Sanctions and Partial Trade Suspension, Von der Leyen Calls for Ceasefire Amid Gaza War

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers the State of the European Union address to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

The executive body of the European Union will propose sanctions against certain Israeli ministers and partially suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel, in one of its latest efforts to pressure Jerusalem over the war in Gaza.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled new measures targeting the 25-year-old pact governing the EU’s political and economic ties with Israel, in one of the latest attempts to curb the Jewish state’s defensive campaign against Hamas.

“What is happening in Gaza has shaken the conscience of the world,” von der Leyen said in a State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in France.

“People killed while begging for food. Mothers holding lifeless babies,” she continued. “Man-made famine can never be a weapon of war. For the sake of the children, for the sake of humanity. This must stop.”

This latest move is part of an increasingly hostile campaign by some European countries against the Jewish state, building on previous efforts to undermine Israel internationally.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar denounced von der Leyen’s comments as “regrettable,” adding that some of her remarks were “tainted by echoing the false propaganda of Hamas and its partners.”

“Israel, the world’s only Jewish state and the only democracy in the Middle East, is fighting a war of existence against extremist enemies working to eliminate it. The international community must back Israel in this struggle,” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X.

“Once again, Europe conveys the wrong message that strengthens Hamas and the radical axis in the Middle East,” he continued. “Anyone who seeks an end to the war knows very well how to end it: the release of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, a new future for Gaza.”

Saar added, “Hurting Israel will not bring this about; on the contrary, it entrenches Hamas and Israel’s enemies in their refusal.”

Von der Leyen’s announcement came just a day after Jerusalem carried out strikes against Hamas’s political leadership in Qatar, which has supported the Palestinian terrorist group for years.

In her speech, von der Leyen denounced Israel’s actions, accusing the country of causing starvation in the war-torn enclave of Gaza and undermining ceasefire negotiations.

She also condemned the expansion of settlements in parts of the West Bank and denounced comments from some government ministers that she said incite violence.

“All of this points to a clear attempt to undermine the two-state solution, to undermine the vision of a viable Palestinian state. And we must not let this happen,” von der Leyen said.

Israel has vehemently denied any accusations of causing starvation in Gaza, noting that it has provided and facilitated significant humanitarian aid into the enclave throughout much of the war.

Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians. According to UN data, the vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients.

Jerusalem has also argued it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s widely acknowledged military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.

Under the new proposed measures, the EU would partially suspend its trade pact with Israel, removing preferential treatment for Israeli goods that make up nearly a third of the country’s total international trade.

Von der Leyen also announced that the EU will suspend its bilateral support for Israel, while maintaining engagement with Israeli civil society and Yad Vashem, the country’s main Holocaust memorial center.

In addition, the European Commission “will propose sanctions on the extremist ministers and on violent settlers” and plans to set up a “Palestine donor group” next month, with a dedicated mechanism to support Gaza’s reconstruction following the war.

At the end of her speech, von der Leyen called for the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas, the “unrestrained” entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and “an immediate ceasefire.”

“There can never be any place for Hamas, neither now nor in future because they are terrorists who want to destroy Israel,” the European Commission head said.

“They are also inflicting terror on their own people, keeping their future hostage.”

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Australian Police Arrest Alleged Perpetrator Behind 4 Antisemitic Attacks, Including Child-Care Center Torching

Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

Australian authorities have charged a 27-year-old man who they say directed multiple acts of vandalism and antisemitic arson attacks against Sydney’s Jewish population.

Police on Wednesday named the suspect as Tarek Zahabe, who was arrested in July but only publicly revealed this week as the alleged organizer of four crimes in January. Investigators say he orchestrated the attacks and instructed Kye Pickering, his alleged 26-year-old accomplice.

The alleged crimes occurred in less than a month. On Jan. 10, swastikas were sprayed across the Allawah Synagogue in southern Sydney. A week later, on Jan. 17, vandals attacked the former home of Alex Ryvchin, co-executive chief officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. They splashed red paint and torched four cars on the street, scrawling “f**k Jews” on one of the vehicles. On Jan. 21, a child-care center near the Maroubra Synagogue was set on fire and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Finally, on Jan. 30, a Jewish school in Maroubra was also targeted with spray-painted slurs.

Police allege Zahabe directed and coordinated each of these actions, while Pickering executed much of the damage.

Zahabe faces two counts of participating in a criminal group and one count of knowingly or recklessly directing such a group. Pickering has been charged with destroying property, participating in the conspiracy, and displaying Nazi symbols in public. Both are scheduled to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on Oct. 30.

In Australia, the public display of swastikas and other Nazi iconography carries penalties as high as 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of $11,000.

Some Australian states enforce stiffer penalties for those intent on promoting the Third Reich, such as Victoria with fines reaching $23,000 and 12 months in jail. In Western Australia, Nazi advocates face fines of $24,000 with as much as five years behind bars.

The arrests resulted from the efforts of Strike Force Pearl, a counterterrorism investigation launched after a wave of incidents targeting Sydney’s Jewish community. Authorities have linked Zahabe’s alleged actions to a broader set of more than a dozen attacks across the summer, including one case in which a caravan filled with explosives was discovered on the city’s outskirts.

“We thank the NSW [New South Wales] Police for their efforts and determination in bringing these alleged offenders to justice,” David Ossip, president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, said in a statement. “Many in the community will sleep more soundly in the knowledge that at least some of these attackers are no longer a threat but big questions remain about the role of Iran in these events.”

At the time of the January attacks, political leaders condemned the criminals with Chris Minns, the New South Wales premier, calling the attackers “bastards … with hate in their hearts.” He would later describe the spate of firebombings and graffiti as Sydney’s “summer of racism.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also denounced the attacks targeting Jewish sites and leaders.

Authorities have so far chosen to prosecute Zahabe as a domestic criminal conspiracy. However, Australian leaders have recently announced the involvement of Iran in other antisemitic crimes in the country, charges prompting diplomatic divisions resulting in the mutual expulsion of ambassadors.

In August, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) said it had credible evidence that Iran directed two crimes — a firebombing of Lewis’s Continental Kitchen, a kosher deli in Bondi, and an arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.

Albanese described the incidents as “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.” His government responded by expelling Iran’s ambassador, suspending operations at Australia’s embassy in Tehran, and pledging to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous and baseless” while accusing Australia of manufacturing claims to justify an anti-Iran policy. Tehran responded by downgrading relations, sending the Australian ambassador home, and insisting that antisemitism was a “Western and European” problem with no place in Iran’s own cultural history.

“If you look at history, persecution of Jews because of their religion is rooted in Europe, and it is they who must be held accountable for their past,” Baghaei said.

The Guardian reported that police have not linked Zahabe’s case directly to Iran or to the organized crime networks mentioned earlier in the investigation.

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