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Two Holocaust survivors, reunited after 80 years apart, tell their tale in a new short documentary

(New York Jewish Week) — In March 2022, Jack Waksal thought he recognized Sam Ron, the keynote speaker at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual South Florida dinner in Boca Raton. But he couldn’t quite place him — after all, at 97, Waksal had met thousands of people during his lifetime.
But when Ron said the word “Pionki,” all the memories came rushing back. Ron, formerly known as Shmuel Rakowsk, and Waksal had been best friends as teenagers when they worked side by side making gunpowder at the Pionki labor camp in Poland for nearly a year during the Holocaust.
Waksal was blown away by the coincidence of meeting Ron again at a gala nearly 79 years after they first became friends half a world away. After Ron’s speech, Waksal made his way over to his table. In a new documentary about their rekindled friendship, “Jack and Sam,” Waksal recalls the first words he spoke to Ron in nearly 80 years: “I said, ‘You’re my brother!’”
“It is such a beautiful love story,” director Jordan Matthew Horowitz said after a screening Sunday at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York’s Holocaust museum. “It’s a beautiful story of friendship that’s endured so much over such a long period of time.”
The screening was part of the filmmakers’ push to get the film in front of documentary branch members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as they begin voting on the shortlist of Oscar-nominated short documentaries. (“Jack and Sam” clocks in at 20 minutes.) Around 40 voters, film industry leaders and other documentary filmmakers attended Sunday’s screening, with more expected at a second screening Tuesday at the United Talent Agency offices in Los Angeles.
“Jack and Sam” premiered at Provincetown International Film Festival in June and has since been shown at six film festivals across the globe including at DocNYC last month. Jewish actresses Sarah Silverman and Julianna Margulies signed on as executive producers for the film in October.
“My wish for the film is that everybody sees it, especially right now. I think from sixth grade to 12th grade, this film should be mandatory viewing,” said Margulies in a talkback after Sunday’s screening. The actress, who starred in the television series “E.R.,” has been outspoken about the rise in antisemitism and Jewish representation in Hollywood in recent years.
Margulies, who is on the board of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, said she is personal friends with Waksal’s granddaughter and believes that the story in the film is crucial given the antisemitism experienced on and after Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. (She was also fresh off an apology after making disparaging comments about Black Americans who have not supported Jews after Oct. 7.)
“Right now, it is such a heightened moment. Especially in terms of education and misinformation, it is our absolute responsibility as adults and human beings to make sure that we do everything we can to get these films seen,” she said. “The timing of this is extraordinary. We have to push as hard as we can to show the evidence of what people refuse to believe.”
“Having testimony and recordings of history like this is so important,” said Jack Kliger, the CEO of the museum. Horowitz “has added a lot to the body of the work that will live on for many years and I appreciate that.”
Horowitz said that, as Holocaust survivors number fewer and fewer, the two men’s story was important before Oct. 7. But in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel and the international outburst of antisemitism in the nearly two months since, it has become even more relevant. “I had no idea how the world can change so rapidly,” he said.
The film begins with Waksal and Ron narrating the story of their childhoods in Poland over traditional documentary footage of pre-Holocaust European life in cities and ghettos. Both were born in 1924, Waksal in Jedlinsk and Ron in a town near Krakow. They remember Kristallnacht, the Nazi-led pogrom of 1938, and both lived in ghettos before being moved to labor camps.
Horowitz enlisted animator Lukas Schrank to recreate Waksal and Ron’s depictions of being transported via cattle cars to labor camps and the details of their lives there, including their harrowing memories of taking their first showers in weeks but not knowing if water or gas would come out of the faucet.
The film also animates Waksal’s story of escaping the labor camp after hearing that some residents would be moved to Auschwitz. He and a group of 15 others escaped together and lived in a nearby forest for more than six months before the war ended. Only six of the group of 15 survived the whole winter.
The movie doesn’t cover why Ron didn’t join them; Horowitz cited interviews with Ron, who explained that both staying and leaving carried risks and he found it an impossible choice to make. He instead was moved to Sachsenhausen, another concentration camp, and then was sent on a death march, during which he didn’t eat for more than a week. He was on the march when the American army liberated the group in the spring of 1945.
After the war, Waksal moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he lived until 1992 and became a successful owner of a scrapyard. Ron joined B’richa, an underground organization that helped Jewish orphans escape to Palestine. He briefly moved to Israel, and in 1956 settled in Canton, Ohio, about 200 miles from his wartime companion.
When they retired, both men moved to South Florida, never knowing they had lived and continued to live close to one another. That is, until the U.S. Holocaust Museum dinner in March 2022. After the dinner, Waksal and Ron became close again, visiting each other frequently, updating each other on the last eight decades of their lives and sharing their story at local high schools.
“It’s like a miracle,” Ron says in the film of his renewed relationship with Waksal.
Horowitz said he began working on the film a year and a half ago, just a few weeks after Ron and Waksal reunited.
“I actually never thought I would ever make a Holocaust-themed movie,” he said. “I just didn’t feel like there’s anything I could add to the conversation that hasn’t been said many times before. But then when I heard about their story, I was so moved by it.”
Horowitz conducted extensive interviews with both men over the course of 2022. They also both spoke at a screening of the documentary at Florida Atlantic University in August, which Horowitz said was “one of the highlights of my personal and professional career.”
Ron died on Oct. 11 at age 99. Waksal, meanwhile, is 99 and recently attended the March for Israel in Washington, D.C. with his daughter and granddaughter.
“We’re just trying to get as many eyes on this as possible,” Horowitz said. “That’s what Jack wants more than anything. He is so concerned with the state of the world and he feels like he has such valid points to make about it that he’s getting it in front of as many people as possible.”
“As he says, this is why I survived, to tell this story,” Margulies said.
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The post Two Holocaust survivors, reunited after 80 years apart, tell their tale in a new short documentary appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust

An antisemitic slur spray-painted on the ruins of a former synagogue in Dukla, Poland. Photo: World Jewish Restitution Organization
Two Jewish sites in Dukla, Poland, were vandalized over the weekend mere days after Polish member of the European Parliament (MEP) Grzegorz Braun claimed gas chambers at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were fake and repeated an antisemitic blood libel in a live radio interview.
Vandals spray-painted the word “F–k” followed by a Star of David on the ruins of a former synagogue that was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and a memorial commemorating Holocaust victims located at the entrance of the Jewish cemetery in Dukla was defaced with a swastika and the word “Palestine,” according to the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO). The memorial honors Jews of Dukla and the surrounding areas who were murdered by Nazis during the Holocaust.
The two Jewish sites in Dukla are cared for by the Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), which was established in 2002 by the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland and the WJRO to protect and commemorate Poland’s Jewish heritage sites.
“These hateful acts are not only antisemitic, but they are also attempts to erase Jewish history and desecrate memory,” said WJRO President Gideon Taylor in a released statement on Tuesday. “Polish authorities must take swift and serious action to identify the perpetrators and ensure the protection of Jewish heritage sites in Dukla and across the country.”
“The vandalism of Jewish sites in Dukla—with swastikas and anti-Israel slurs—is not an isolated act,” insisted Jack Simony, director general of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), in a statement to The Algemeiner. The nonprofit focuses on preserving the memory of the Jewish community in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in town.
“While we cannot say definitively that it [the vandalism] was sparked by Grzegorz Braun’s Holocaust denial, his rhetoric contributes to an atmosphere where hatred is emboldened and truth is under assault,” added Simony. “Braun’s lies are not harmless — they are dangerous. Holocaust denial fuels antisemitism and, too often, violence. This is why Holocaust education matters … because when we fail to confront lies, we invite their consequences. Memory must be defended, not only for the sake of the past, but for the safety of our future.”
On July 10, a ceremony was held commemorating the 84th anniversary of the 1941 Jedwabne massacre, when hundreds of Polish Jews were massacred – mostly by their neighbors – in the northeastern town in German-occupied Poland. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries and faith leaders including Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich and Israeli Deputy Ambassador Bosmat Baruch. Groups of anti-Israel and far-right activists — including MEP Braun and his supporters – tried to disrupt the event by holding banners with antisemitic slogans and blocking the vehicles of the attendees, according to Polish radio.
Hours later, during a live radio broadcast, Braun falsely claimed the Auschwitz gas chambers were “a lie” and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum was promoting “pseudo-history.” He also claimed that Jewish “ritual murder is a fact.” Polish prosecutors launched an investigation into Braun’s comments, they announced that same day. Under Article 55 of the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in Poland.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum issued a swift condemnation of Braun’s remarks and said it intents to pursue legal action. The Institute of National Remembrance — which is the largest research, educational and archival institution in Poland – also denounced Braun’s remarks, saying there is “well-documented” evidence supporting the existence of gas chambers. His comments were also condemned by the Embassy of Israel in Poland, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and the US Embassy in Warsaw, which said that his actions “distort history, desecrate memory, or spread antisemitism.” AJCF called on the European Parliament to consider disciplinary measures against Braun, including potential censure or expulsion.
Auschwitz Jewish Center Director Tomek Kuncewicz said Braun’s comments are “an act of violence against truth, against survivors, and against the legacy of our shared humanity.” AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson called the politician’s remarks “blatant and baseless lies,” while Simony described them as “a calculated act of antisemitic incitement” that “must be met with legal consequences and universal moral condemnation.”
The post Jewish Synagogue, Holocaust Memorial Vandalized in Poland After Politician Denies Holocaust first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. Photo Credit: ADL.
Following a vote by the National Education Association (NEA) on July 6 to end its relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 400 Jewish communal groups, education organizations, and religious institutions have come together to call for the influential teachers union to change course.
“We are writing to express our deep concerns about the growing level of antisemitic activity within teachers’ unions, particularly since the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023,” the letter to NEA President Becky Pringle stated. “Passage of New Business Item (NBI) 39 at the National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly this past weekend, which shockingly calls for the boycott of the Anti-Defamation League, is just the latest example of open hostility toward Jewish educators, students and families coming from national and local teachers’ unions and their members.”
In addition to the ADL, signatories of the letter included American Jewish Committee (AJC), Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Jewish Federations of North America, #EndJewHatred, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith International, CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting & Analysis), Combat Antisemitism Movement, Democratic Majority for Israel, StandWithUs, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Zioness Movement, and Zionist Organization of America (ZOA).
The group told Pringle that “we have heard directly from NEA members who have shared their experiences ranging from explicit and implicit antisemitism within the union to a broader pattern of insensitivity toward legitimate concerns of Jewish members – including at the recently concluded Representative Assembly. We are also deeply troubled by a broader pattern of union activity over the past 20 months that has targeted or alienated Jewish members and the wider Jewish community.”
The letter to Pringle included an addendum providing examples of objectionable rhetoric. These named such incidents as the Oakland Education Association (OEA) putting out a statement calling for “an end to the occupation of Palestine” and the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) accusing Israel of genocide.
The coalition of 400 organizations urged the NEA to “take immediate action” and suggested such steps as rejecting NBI 39, issuing a “strong condemnation” of antisemitism within the union, drafting a plan to counter ongoing antisemitism in affiliate chapters, and opposing “any effort to use an educator’s support for the existence of Israel as a means to attack their identity.”
ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt wrote on X that “Excluding @ADL’s educational resources from schools is not just an attack on our org, but on the entire Jewish community. We urge the @NEAToday Executive Committee to reverse this biased, fringe effort and reaffirm its commitment to supporting all Jewish students and educators.”
The post Coalition of 400 Jewish Orgs and Synagogues Urge Teachers Union to Reverse Decision Cutting Ties with ADL first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him?
In the wake of Zohran Mamdani’s surge in New York City politics, a disturbing trend has emerged: prominent Jewish leaders are being urged to join “Jews for Zohran,” a newly formed effort to legitimize a candidate whose record and rhetoric are alarmingly out of step with Jewish communal values.
In a city that’s home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel — and where antisemitic incidents are on the rise — this is a profound mistake.
Mamdani has refused to explicitly condemn the slogan “Globalize the Intifada,” which has been widely understood as a call to violence against Jews. His defenders insist it’s a symbolic plea for Palestinian rights. But nuance offers little comfort when the phrase glorifies violent uprisings, and is routinely chanted alongside calls for Israel’s destruction.
Institutions such as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and watchdogs like StopAntisemitism.org have made it clear: attempts to sanitize violent language must be firmly rejected.
Mamdani’s vocal support for the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement is equally troubling. BDS does not merely critique Israeli policy; it seeks to economically isolate and politically delegitimize the Jewish state. When a candidate stands against the most visible symbol of Jewish survival — Israel — while brushing off violent slogans as misunderstood metaphors, we must ask what message this sends to our communities.
The answer should be clear. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of over half the city’s reported hate crimes last year. From Crown Heights to Midtown, visible Jews have been harassed, assaulted, and mocked. Mamdani was flagged by national antisemitism monitors in December for promoting material that mocked Hanukkah. This is not abstract. This is personal, present, and dangerous.
Yes, Mamdani has pledged to increase hate crime funding from $3 million to $26 million. But that’s not enough. The Jewish community — especially now — needs more than budgetary gestures. We require moral clarity, as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel powerfully stated: “Morally speaking, there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself….”
Moral clarity demands more than financial promises, it requires principled rejection of rhetoric that endangers Jews. Belonging isn’t forged by slogans; it’s proven through sustained empathy, shared responsibility, and unwavering commitment to safety.
Calls for Jewish leaders to publicly support Mamdani, including those made to officials like Brad Lander and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), aim to provide political cover for a candidate whose worldview clashes with core Jewish values. These aren’t harmless endorsements. They’re symbols. And symbols matter.
Endorsing Mamdani sends a troubling signal: that political convenience or progressive branding outweighs communal safety and historical memory. When Jewish leaders align with someone who flirts with the delegitimization of Jewish statehood and refuses to condemn slogans rooted in violence, they are telling our adversaries that our moral lines are negotiable.
New York’s Jewish community has long been a moral compass in American politics. What happens here echoes across the nation. If our leaders can be cajoled into supporting a candidate like Mamdani, what message does that send to Jews in swing districts, smaller cities, and across college campuses? It normalizes equivocation. It emboldens the fringe. It tells the next generation that Jewish dignity is up for debate.
This is about more than Mamdani. It’s about whether Jewish pride and Jewish safety remain non-negotiable pillars of our political participation. Some have argued that this is simply politics as usual — that strategic alliances are part of coalition-building. But the Jewish people know better than most that what begins as a small compromise can metastasize into a much greater danger.
Former Democratic Councilman Rory Lancman said it best: “If ever there was a time to put principle over party, this is it.” He’s right. And that’s why this moment requires Jewish leaders to speak not just as political actors, but as moral stewards.
Jewish leaders are free to engage with any candidate they choose. But engagement is not endorsement. One can listen, challenge, and debate without aligning oneself publicly with a candidate whose positions cross communal red lines. Outreach does not require complicity.
If Jewish political figures join “Jews for Zohran,” they risk helping mainstream dangerous ideologies. They risk fracturing communal unity even further at a time when Jewish communal unity is our best defense. They risk allowing today’s ambiguity to become tomorrow’s regret.
Jewish history teaches us the cost of silence, of appeasement, and of looking away. We cannot afford those mistakes again — not in this city, not in this era; history is beginning to repeat itself and we cannot allow that to happen.
To every Jewish leader now weighing their public stance: choose principle. Choose safety. Choose the kind of moral leadership our tradition demands; reject the logic of “Jews for Zohran.” The stakes are too high — and the message matters.
Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
The post Zohran Mamdani Won’t Condemn Calls for Violence Against Jews; Why Are Jewish Leaders Supporting Him? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.