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Lishmor al Kesher – Full House, Big Questions

This month, we held our second Lishmor al Kesher gathering – a series of encounters with Holocaust survivors at Beit Ben Yehuda, held in cooperation with our partner AMCHA. And once again, the house was full.

Group of five older adults (lk7) eating at a cafeteria table with plates, water bottle and glasses by a concrete window.

At the beginning, in a conversation with one of AMCHA’s social workers, I learned that five German-speaking survivors had reached out, asking him whether one of our future volunteers could visit them once a week – like in the years before October 7. For me, it was painful to hear – especially knowing that we won’t have enough volunteers in Israel next year to meet this need.
After a shared lunch, our board member Jonathan Livny gave his talk on Richard Wagner for the second time – exploring the composer’s antisemitism, legacy, and music. Using carefully selected audio clips, Jonathan illustrated why, despite everything, he still considers Wagner’s music brilliant. During the discussion that followed, I was surprised how many participants were familiar not only with Wagner’s music, but also with his biography.
At the end of his talk, Jonathan revealed a “secret” project: plans for a Wagner concert in the fall, with free tickets for all survivors in our circle.
Jonathan – we’ll hold you to it. And we’re already looking forward to it!
This gathering was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Axel Springer Foundation