Gravestones returning to the cemetery after 80 years
a truly historic moment
This month’s newsletter is packed with powerful stories of memory, justice, and connection. We share the historic moment when 1,250 salvaged gravestones were finally returned to the Brest cemetery after 80 years, ready to become part of a stunning memorial. We reveal how a simple WhatsApp message enabled us to help travel vlogger Drew Binsky on his incredible journey to Belarus. We highlight The Together Plan’s critical role in supporting the Belarus Prosecutor’s Office in bringing a wartime collaborator to justice eight decades on. We bring you a moving family story that spans an astonishing 700 years, and we take a nostalgic journey back in time to experience memories of Pesach in the shtetl.
All the best
The Together Plan Team
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- May 4th – A Virtual Tour or Kyiv and Odesa (a Qesher event in support of The Together Plan)
- May 11th – Let’s Get Quizzical – annual supper quiz (in-person event)
- June 5th – The Jews of Galicia (Western Ukraine) – A Virtual Tour of Lviv and Brody (a Qesher event in support of The Together Plan)
- June 8th – Stepping Out Together: The Great Big Walkathon – participate from wherever you are in the world – click here to register
- 10th June – Antiques Auction (in-person event)
- 31st August – Jazz and Comedy evening (in-person event)
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they're home
On April 24th, a powerful moment of historical justice unfolded in Brest, Belarus. After more than a decade of dedicated work, The Together Plan is proud to announce that salvaged remnants of 1250 gravestones, that once stood proudly in the Brest-Litovsk (Brisk) Jewish cemetery, have finally come home.
it all begins with a WhatsApp message
It just so happened that Artur Livshyts, co-founder and Belarus Country Director of The Together Plan, was on a rare trip to the UK and sitting with Debra Brunner in The Together Plan office when a message popped up on her phone saying ‘You need to see this’. The WhatsApp message that connected us to the social media influencer with over 5 million YouTube subscribers.
no hiding from history - justice for Holocaust victims 80 years on
At The Together Plan, we believe that remembering the past with honesty and compassion is vital for building a just and tolerant future. To that end, we are proud to share news of a significant milestone in this mission – the Belarusian Prosecutor’s Office has posthumously convicted Semyon Serafimovich—a wartime collaborator responsible for unimaginable atrocities during World War II—of genocide.
a snapsot from the shtetl
To mark Pesach 2025, we shared a wonderful excerpt from a very unique book: ‘Journey to a Nineteenth-Century Shtetl’ – the memoirs of Yekhezkel Kotik from his life in Kamenets (once part of Poland and which is today in Belarus). Kotik’s vivid memories help us to understand daily life in the shtetls of the past including his memory of the Passover preparations and the making of the shmurah matzah in Kamenets.
from lockdown to reunion - updating a six-century family legacy
Amid the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, David Druce’s choir group, the London Cantorial Singers, found themselves looking for new ways to connect. Since singing together was no longer possible, group members created virtual game nights and led informal lectures on various topics of interest. It wasn’t until a fellow chorus member suggested that David share his extensive family tree dating back to 1408 that David began to invest not only in understanding his family’s past but also in bringing together the current generation.
