Streicker Center at Temple Emanu-El
building global links for a better tomorrow
This month’s newsletter is truly international with articles that connect us to Belarus, Israel, Poland and the USA. As a result of wars and oppression over hundreds of years, right up to today, Jewish people and their stories, traditions and foods are dispersed across the globe. There is a burgeoning need to build stronger links between peoples, organisations and communities. Through the building of bridges and creating new opportunities to grow together means we will be a stronger and cohesive people. Coming together is good for everyone, especially the more vulnerable communities in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe who need to feel supported, less isolated and empowered. No-one should be left behind.
May we all work together to find ways to build a peaceful tomorrow and we thank you for your support in helping us to do this.
This is why we are called The Together Plan.
Upcoming events
Sunday January 7th 2024 (virtual event) The Jews of Crimea and the Story of the Karaites by special guest speaker Evgenia Kempinski
Thursday January 11th 2024 (virtual event) The Jews of Belarus: From the Pale of Settlement to the USSR and Beyond
Sunday January 14th 2024 (virtual event) Restoring Legacy: Reclaiming the Brest-Litovsk Jewish Cemetery
Sunday January 21st 2024 Charity Networking, antiques auction, booze and shmooze (in-person event, north London)
Sunday March 3rd 2024 Spring Supper Quiz 2024 (in-person event, north London), SAVE THE DATE!
CLICK HERE FOR ALL OUR EVENTS AND TO BOOK TICKETS
connecting continents, weaving tales of heritage
This month, our CEO Debra Brunner visited New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Her mission: to build connections, foster collaborations, and cultivate the growth of our organisation.
Click here to find out more about her travels
between two wars - from Belarus to Israel a journey of Jewish identity
As Sasha from Polotsk, Belarus was starting to discover her Jewish identity Russia invaded Ukraine. Fearful that her husband would be called to fight, they made the decision to leave for Israel. Only months later they found themselves caught up in another war.
Click here to read Sasha’s story
Preserving the Light: a Together Plan volunteer’s Journey to Israel through heritage and conflict
Connecting to your Judaism is a powerful thing. The experience of being in Israel on October 7th is not deterring Tasha from making Aliyah. On the contrary. It is making her feel more connected than ever.
Click here to read Tasha’s story
reclaiming Jewish stories through DNA
The DNA Reunion Project at the Center for Jewish History is a first-of-its-kind effort aimed at helping Holocaust survivors worldwide heal their fragmented families.
Click here to find out more
food, travels, connections and deep fried ‘Hvorost’ for Chanukah
There is power in human connections, shared heritage, traditions and food. On her recent visit to the USA, Debra Brunner discovered ‘Hvorost’ – a Belarusian/Russian tea time treat and a perfect addition to your chanukah tables.
Click here to find out more
Gilbert’s Ghetto Guides
The experience of Jews in the area that is now Belarus has its rightful place in Sir Martin Gilbert’s histories of the Holocaust. As a feature of our monthly newsletter, a short excerpt from his writings or experiences is featured.
Click here for this month’s guide – Episode 12 – Righteous Diplomats Part 2 by Esther Gilbert
Belarus ancestry and archives - we can help
The Together Plan has been helping people locate records in the Belarus archives for some years. There has never been a more exciting time for people to connect to personal history – or for that history to have a greater impact on world knowledge!
If you are looking for assistance with regards to the Belarus archives and would like to make an appointment to speak to us and discuss your requirements, please email us at [email protected] – we are ready to help.
Event details
The Jews of Crimea and the Story of the Karaites by special guest speaker Evgenia Kempinski
A talk with Qesher – Discover, Learn, Connect
Sunday January 7th 2024
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
Virtual talk
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
A donation from this talk will be made to The Together Plan
The peninsula of Crimea, on the northern shore of the Black Sea, has been historically a land of different peoples and contested borders. It was once the territory of Greek colonies, then a province of the Ottoman Empire, later the naval base of Russia and until recently, the holiday resort of independent Ukraine. Today it is once again immersed in conflict.
Crimea also has a long history of Jewish settlement. Jews may have first settled here during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The legendary Khazaria state, whose elite converted to Judaism, was located here in the 8th and 9th centuries.
Two different Jewish communities lived side by side in Crimea for a very long time: traditional Jews and Karaites. We are going to visit Crimea and learn the differences between traditional (Rabbinic) and Karaite (Non-rabbinic) Jews. We will talk about Jewish agricultural settlements, Zionist training camps and Soviet Jewish collective farms and the history and traditions of the Karaites in the Russian Empire, as well as their story of social and political success. We will also look at the Synagogues, Karaite praying homes (Kenesas) and old Jewish cemeteries.
To book tickets click here
The Jews of Belarus: From the Pale of Settlement to the USSR and Beyond with special guest speakers Artur Livshyts and Debra Brunner of The Together Plan
A talk with Qesher – Discover, Learn, Connect
Thursday January 11th 2024
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
Virtual talk
Belarus’ Jewish story is rich, vital, traumatic, fascinating and barely spoken of. The modern country of Belarus can trace its origins to Slavic peoples who entered the area in the early Middle Ages. The territory was ruled at different times by Lithuania, Poland and Russia. It was invaded by Nazis in 1941 and with redefined post-war borders it came under the rule of the Soviet Union as a territory within the USSR until 1991.
This talk will give a snapshot of the history of the Jewish people of Belarus, the legacy on the Belarusian Jewish community of today, and an insight into the building of Jewish Cultural Heritage Trail under development, a new project initiated by The Together Plan Charity.
Learn from the Jewish activists offering support, training and aid to Belarusian communities today, in order to help them become self-sustaining again.
To book tickets click here
A donation from this talk will be made to The Together Plan
Restoring Legacy: Reclaiming the Brest-Litovsk Jewish Cemetery
Sunday January 14th 2024
Time: 19:00 GMT, 11:00 USA PT, 14:00 USA ET, 21:00 Israel, 22:00 Belarus
Virtual talk – free event
Over 80 years ago, more than 1200 remnants of headstones that once stood in the Brest-Litovsk Jewish cemetery, in the south of Belarus, were desecrated and used for other purposes. These headstones have been discovered over the last 20 years and will finally come home to rest in a stunning memorial.
This memorial will be a testament to Brest’s rich Jewish heritage, acknowledge and honour the community that was so brutally extinguished, and educate visitors about Brest’s Jewish community of today.
Join us on January 14th where we will be telling the story of this incredible project.
How did the cemetery disappear?
What happened to the matzevot?
How did The Together Plan discover become involved?
What has been done so far and what are the plans for the future?
Where are the 1249 salvaged headstones at the moment?
How does this memorial play a pivotal role in Jewish history?
How will it help to support the functioning Jewish community in Brest today?
This event will be recorded.
Charity networking, antiques auction, booze and shmooze
Sunday January 21st 2024
7pm
Finchley Reform Synagogue, 101 Fallow Ct Ave, London, N12 0BE
Join us for an evening of networking and socialising with members of the BNI Chipping North London business network where the Together Plan is a nine year member.
The jovial Jonathan Myers will be our special guest speaker and he will regale us with his expertise and antiques anecdotes. He will also be auctioning some wonderful and curious artefacts with all proceeds going to the charity.
Jonathan is one of London’s famous black taxi drivers. He started buying and selling antiques about 15 years ago and completed a two year course at the Hampstead Institute on identifying and understanding antiques. He has also completed a 3 year watchmakers course dealing with antique and vintage watches.
Funds will be raised in support of community projects at the Polotsk Community in the north of Belarus and the sending of humanitarian aid.
To book tickets, click here
Holocaust Memorial Day Event
Newcastle City Library
Thursday February 1st 2024
THE RESCUERS uncovers the largely unknown stories of 13 heroic and courageous diplomats who, at tremendous personal cost, saved tens of thousands of Jews during World War II. The film follows Stephanie Nyombayire, a young Rwandan anti-genocide activist who lost 100 members of her family in the Rwandan Genocide of the 1990s, and Sir Martin Gilbert, the renowned 20th century and Holocaust historian, as they travel across 15 countries and three continents interviewing survivors and descendants of the diplomats. Nyombayire and Gilbert explore “the mystery of goodness” and “moral courage in the face of danger” in contemplating the horrors of the past, in part, to better understand what should be done to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur and elsewhere.
Often going against their own government policies, many of the World War II diplomats, who were not Jewish, willingly sacrificed their careers, families and livelihood, working desperately to save people they didn’t know. Their actions raise the question of the mystery of goodness. What leads one person and not another, to do the right thing regardless of the consequences they may face? What causes one human being to bypass praise or reward for his action, and just do something good and right because his instinct, soul and spirit knew he had to, at all costs and by any means necessary?
Executive Producer Joyce D. Mandell and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael King.
Watch the trailer here
Doors open 3.45pm for ticket holder access to The Together Plan’s ‘Making History Together’ exhibition exploring the Holocaust in Belarus between 1941 and 1944, followed by the screening of ‘The Rescuers, the Heroes of the Holocaust’ at 4.45pm with a virtual Q&A with Lady Esther Gilbert.
Click here to book
