HEADLINES | 6
SENIORS | 12
JEWS OF COLOR IN EARLY AMERICA
KLEZMER CONNECTION
Historian Laura Arnold Leibman spoke during BJE’s Passages series lectures
Reader Esther Shapera made a musical connection via the Jewish News
MARCH 8, 2024 | ADAR 28, 5784 | VOLUME 76, NUMBER 13
Number of living Holocaust survivors dwindles; determination to bear witness remains high SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER
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her yl Bronkesh shudders whenever she is reminded that with each passing year, the local Holocaust survivors she works with, and has grown to love, get older and increasingly frail. Bronkesh, president of the Phoenix Holocaust Association (PHA), originally joined the organization for the sake of her parents, both of whom survived the Holocaust and are now deceased. About 245,000 Holocaust survivors remain alive today, according to a January demographic report by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, an organization that has worked to ensure survivors are compensated for their suffering. The median age of survivors today is 86. The Claims Conference negotiates aid for survivors with Germany annually, shares the basic information it collects publicly and offered a similar number of estimated survivors last year. But this latest report is the first to break down the population of Jewish survivors by country of birth and current country of residence, their age, gender, compensation and services received. It identified survivors in more than 90 countries: 49% reside in Israel, 18% in North America, another 18% in Western Europe and 12% in the former Soviet Union. The youngest are on the cusp of 80 — the Holocaust ended in 1945 — and, in a reflection of geriatric gender disparities, 61% are women. Those percentages mirror Arizona’s population of survivors, Bronkesh told Jewish News. SEE SURVIVORS, PAGE 2
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Creating connections protects the Jewish community SHANNON LEVITT | STAFF WRITER
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dozen leaders representing state and federal government, federal and local law enforcement and the Greater Phoenix Jewish community delivered one overarching message to roughly 150 people at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale this week: Creating connections and building community is key to fighting hate. Panelist Leslie Ross, the section chief counsel at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, emphasized the importance of a coordinated effort when she enjoined the audience to recognize that all the people at the front of the room “are working together to try to end discrimination, Department of Justice “United Against Hate” program took place at the Ina Levine Jewish hate crimes and antisemitism in Community Campus on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The panel included representatives from Assistant U.S. Attorney's office, FBI, Phoenix and Scottsdale Police Departments, our communities.” Ross spoke as the ASU's Jewish Law Student Association, Hillel at ASU, Anti-Defamation League Arizona, part of the Department of Justice’s Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, Arizona Attorney General's COURTESY OF JEWISH NEWS “United Against Hate” program on office and Maricopa County Attorney's office. Wednesday, Feb. 21. The evening was the fourth in a series of meetings with marginalized communities led by the Justice Department. Wednesday night was focused on the Jewish community, while previous sessions have involved Black, LGBTQ and Hispanic communities. It began as a pilot program with the Asian American Pacific Islander community in Greater Phoenix. SEE CONNECTIONS, PAGE 3
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