a weekend with The Together Plan – a personal reflection

By Lewis James Phillips

Over one weekend in January, I had the great pleasure of being invited to spend time with the co-founders of The Together Plan Charity – UK based Debra Brunner and Belarus based Artur Livshyts. I travelled from Wales to Hertfordshire and spent three fascinating days with this formidable duo. My journey with The Together Plan (TTP) has not been a long one, but what has been packed into that time has been astonishing.

I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason. There was certainly a reason why someone passed me Debra’s details and encouraged me to contact her. Since that first phone call, we have remained in regular contact, sometimes daily discussing the work of TTP, my own research into the unknown stories of the Holocaust, boxing, and even birdwatching. In fact it is through my boxing connections that a whole new and exciting project is now taking shape at The Together Plan (click here for more about that). What began as a simple introduction has grown into something extremely meaningful.

Since joining The Together Plan, my understanding of history has expanded dramatically. I now have a far deeper appreciation of a period of history I never imagined I would become so heavily involved in, I am incredibly grateful that I have.

The main purpose of this article, however, is to reflect on my first true Jewish cultural experience. I often laugh when I say this, because in some ways my Jewish experience began as a child visiting my grandparents in Stamford Hill. I was always fascinated by the dress of the local Jewish communities. It was something I looked forward to on those visits observing, curious, quietly wondering about a culture that was never fully explained to me beyond my mum saying, “They are Orthodox Jewish people.” That childhood curiosity has, in many ways, come full circle.

Debra and Artur are people who have greatly inspired me. Although I had not previously spent much personal time with them, their passion and dedication to TTP has often blown me away. Through them, I have also gained a much better understanding of the traumatic history that Belarus endured, a history that still feels far too little known.

My first experience in a Jewish household was both eye-opening and warmly welcoming. I quickly noticed there were two of everything and I must admit, at times I was slightly confused about which drawer to open for cutlery! I was also introduced properly to kosher food, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Click on the images to enlarge them

I had never visited a synagogue before. On the Friday evening, I was invited to attend a service, where I wore a kippah (skull cap) that had been kindly brought across from Belarus. I felt genuinely proud to be welcomed into a community space, especially at a time when Jewish communities are facing deeply unpleasant and worrying challenges. What struck me most was the peace and the quiet strength of a people who have endured so much unfair persecution throughout history.

It is a shocking reality that in the UK and elsewhere in the world, people require security to attend their place of worship. Standing there, however, I felt warmth, dignity, and togetherness. Walking back after the Shabbat service and seeing members of different synagogues making their way home, I marvelled at the deep sense of community and that has stayed with me.

On the Sunday, I was invited back for the synagogue’s annual quiz. Again, the food was wonderful, but even more meaningful was the family spirit in the room. It reinforced my belief that this is a peaceful community that should not have to live under the shadow of hostility.

As I said my farewell to Debra and Artur, I found myself reflecting on the train journey home. I feel fortunate to have met remarkable people I now consider friends, fortunate that my work in Sobibor may contribute in some small way to educating others about a period of history that is not so distant, and hopeful that future journeys to places such as Belarus, where Holocaust history is often poorly represented in mainstream education, will allow me to play a part in changing that narrative.

In many ways, I feel I have come full circle from being a curious child in the early 1980s driving through Stamford Hill, fascinated by a culture I did not understand, to walking the forests of eastern Poland documenting the journeys of what I call the “Screaming Silence.”

What began as curiosity has become commitment. And what began as a phone call has become a shared mission.

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