Wednesday 26 June went to Yad Vashem to attend the official opening of a new exhibition titled “ I Am My Brothers Keeper ”. The exhibition was to honour the 50th Anniversary since the establishment, by an Act of Parliament, of the Award to the Righteous Amongst the Nations. This recognition is awarded after intensive research to confirm that the savior put his and his family’s life on the line for no reward to save a Jew or many Jews.
There were speeches by the exhibition curator, by the chairman of Yad Vashem by Rabbi Lau, and 2 child survivors who owe their lives to the Gentiles who harbored them.
Rabbi Lau quoted from the story of Cain and Abel where Cain, challenged with enquiries about his brother, asks the question “Am I my brothers keeper? “ The same words are repeated with a slight change, so instead of a question, it becomes a statement “I AM my brothers keeper!”
A Professor who is a child survivor spoke of the heroism of the inhabitants of the Monastery where he was hidden. He spoke about the body’s reaction to fear, the body tells you to run away, out of the way of fear. But the righteous among the nations ignored that reaction & didn’t run. Instead they listened to their hearts, which told them to ignore the fear, to stay & risk their own lives & the lives of their families, to help others. Others who were not relatives, not necessarily friends & in some cases were strangers, & all of them Jewish.
And a lady spoke of the loving care she received from a family when handed to them as a mere infant. Some 50 years later she was reunited with a member of that family .
The exhibition comprises 5 small theaterettes each showing stories illustrating the extent to which a person or family went to, so as to save Jews, and in some cases they lost their lives in the process. A very emotional exhibition.