NEW CAMPAIGN LAUNCHING TODAY SEEKS TO MANDATE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN UTAH
Effort around International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27,
seeks Holocaust education in all 50 states
SALLT LAKE CITY, Jan. 27 – Award-winning documentary filmmaker Joe Fab and artist and educator Cheryl Rattner Price, the director of a global Holocaust educational project, are calling for Utah to mandate Holocaust education in the public schools, as part of a campaign to ensure the Holocaust is taught in all 50 states to combat a rise in hate crimes nationwide that spiked around the presidential election.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, Fab and Rattner Price are urging residents in 42 states that do not mandate Holocaust education to call and write to their governors and demand that the Holocaust be taught in public schools. Currently only eight states – California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Rhode Island and Florida – require some form of Holocaust education in the public schools.
The pair says it is vital that U.S. schools teach young people about the Holocaust at a time when there’s a marked increase in reported hate crimes and anti-Semitism nationwide.
“Holocaust education isn’t some dusty historical subject. In fact, with the resurrection of the alt-right in America, the movement to ban Muslims from entering the country, the high incidence of hate crimes since the election of Donald J. Trump and more, Holocaust education is more critical today than ever before,” Fab said.
The call for the public to lobby local government for Holocaust education in public schools would begin with an initial 100-day phase, in which Fab and Rattner Price would seek to partner with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League and Facing History and Ourselves that currently focus on Holocaust education, as well as with schools and other institutions, Holocaust museums and an upcoming conference on social studies.
The pair issued the call Tuesday evening, during a screening on Tuesday at the Manhattan JCC of the new film they produced and directed, “Not The Last Butterfly.” The film (http://www.notthelastbutterfly.com) tells the story of The Butterfly Project, a global education and arts program whose mission is to paint and display 1.5 million ceramic butterflies to honor and remember each child killed in the Holocaust, and to foster education and awareness of the dangers of hate and bigotry, by mobilizing the global community to stand up against injustice and create a more compassionate and peaceful world.
Fab is also the director of the Emmy nominated and award-winning documentary “Paper Clips,” about a Tennessee school project to fill a replica of a Nazi freight train full of millions of paper clips, one for each victim of the Holocaust. The students chose paper clips because Norwegians wore them during the Nazi occupation as a symbol of resistance.
Fab and Rattner Price acknowledged the challenges of igniting a public campaign to lobby state leaders to mandate Holocaust education. They said the current education system is focused on performance assessments, especially in the core subjects of reading, math and science, so teaching is focused on testing. That leaves little room for other curricula, and there is no standard for education policy across the states.
However, Holocaust education is more relevant than ever, they said. This month Jewish community centers in 18 states received bomb threats, the latest series of anti-Semitic incidents to strike nationwide. The Anti-Defamation League reported 2.6 million anti-Semitic tweets during the presidential election, with 800 Jewish journalists targeted. In the 10 days after the election of Donald J. Trump as president, 867 hate crimes were reported, 100 of those ant-Semitic in nature, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
While “Not the Last Butterfly” is focused on remembrance and hope, the filmmaker pair said their education initiative could help push a national effort to ensure that student learn the lessons of the Holocaust and the importance of standing up to hatred of all kinds.
“The lessons of the Holocaust education projects I’ve filmed apply not just to anti-Semitism, but to every aspect of our lives – including the dangers we see today to non-Jewish citizens as well as threats to our morals and values -- and even to the survival of our democracy, Fab said.
“Holocaust education is a vital tool in the defense of our democracy and critical to helping our young people learn to stand up to demagoguery and evil. Starting in the next 100 days, we should all choose to reach out to our state and local elected officials and advocate for requiring that the Holocaust must be taught in all 50 states.”
Please find photos from Tuesday night’s screening of “Not the Last Butterfly” at the Manhattan JCC here: https://we.tl/xDADMfyadG. Photo Credits: Ryan Greiss.
Photo #1: (From left) Terezin survivor Ela Weissberger, holding her yellow badge, with The Butterfly Project Co-Founder and Executive Director Cheryl Rattner Price, holding a painted ceramic butterfly.
Photo #2: (From left) The Butterfly Project Co-Founder and Executive Director Cheryl Rattner Price; Terezin survivor Ela Weissberger; and “Not the Last Butterfly” co-producer Joe Fab during a Q&A session.
Photo #3: (From left) The Butterfly Project Co-Founder and Executive Director Cheryl Rattner Price with “Not the Last Butterfly” co-producer Joe Fab, who together announced the “50 States Initiative.”
Photo #4: Children and adult members of the audience painted ceramic butterflies after a screening of “Not the Last Butterfly” at the Manhattan JCC.
Photo #5: Members of the audience painted ceramic butterflies after a screening of “Not the Last Butterfly” at the Manhattan JCC.
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IRC: Decision to Suspend U.S. Refugee Resettlement is Hasty and Harmful
The current U.S. Vetting Process makes it harder to get to the US as a refugee than through any other route.
The IRC Will Continue to Provide Resettlement Support to Refugees Admitted to the United States and Humanitarian Aid to Those Who Remain Displaced in War Zone
NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, D.C., January 27, 2017 – The International Rescue Committee (IRC) called today’s suspension of the U.S. resettlement program a “harmful and hasty” decision that would impact thousands of innocent people – mostly women and children – awaiting resettlement to the United States. This decision stalls refugees and displaced people worldwide hoping to resettle and rebuild their lives in a new country.
“America has the strongest, most successful resettlement program in the world,” said IRC President and CEO David Miliband. “Certified by successive administrations, the U.S. resettlement program makes it harder to get to the United States as a refugee than any other route. This is one of many reasons to deplore the hasty decision made today.”
The IRC encouraged the Administration to quickly engage with the real expertise in agencies like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to increase their knowledge of the current resettlement vetting process, and to better understand who refugees are. Decisions regarding any new procedures should then be made based on those experts’ advice and information gathered.
“In truth, refugees are fleeing terror – they are not terrorists,” said Miliband. “And at a time when there are more refugees than ever, America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope.”
Before resettling to the United States, refugees undergo an in-depth process that includes up to 36 months of vetting – including biometric screening – by 12 to 15 government agencies. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. intelligence partners have a long history of safeguarding the integrity of the resettlement program, including regular reviews of protocols.
The IRC said that it will continue to provide of refugees of all faiths and nationalities with resettlement support in the United States and critical humanitarian relief in countries where the ban will take hold.
“This is no time for America to turn its back on people ready to become patriotic Americans,” said Miliband. “We call on the Administration to rethink this move and to emulate the support and generosity shown by Americans in the 29 U.S. communities in which we work.”
ENDS
Let your leaders know you support refugee resettlement: @POTUS my community stands #WithRefugees! I join @theIRC in opposing the resettlement ban. #RefugeesWelcome
Visit here for more information on the thorough refugee vetting process. IRC spokespeople are available for interviews.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Please contact communications@rescue.org for more information and to schedule an interview.
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