Newsletter No. 34
Elul 5768 – September 2008

Dear Friends,

We are pleased to share with you our Museum’s most recent news:

Events and Visits

• The on-going series of our meetings dedicated to the heritage of the Hungarian Speaking Jewry, featured a special event that was held upon the publication of Professor Yitzhak Kashti’s new book: "The History of a Jewish School in a Periferial Town in Hungary - 1841-1948”.
  
  The symposium led by Prof. Kashti included other distinguished panel members such as Dr. Mordechai Peled and Dr. Naomi Gur.
• In April, a meeting of the New York chapter of the Museum's Friends Association was held at the residence of Mrs. Suzanne Nash in Manhattan. The very well organized event was carefully prepared with the assistance of Mrs. Evi Blakie, with an attendance of around thirty participants from the New York area. Ronny Lustig gave a presentation about the Museum's activities and its future plans.
• Our recently produced exhibition titled: “Early Settlers of the Hungarian Speaking Jewry in Eretz Yisrael”, based on Josef Patai’s memories, will be put on display in Hungary at the upcoming “Limud-Keshet” conference that will take place during the month of November.
• A group of Hungarian artists visited the Museum as part of their “March of Life” tour. The enthusiastic response of the visitors still echoes in our place.
• The distinguished priest, Dr. Iványi Gábor, head of the Theological College in Budapest and a long time supporter of several pro-Israeli projects, has visited the Museum and donated several books on Anti-Semitism topics, as well as a marble plaque of commemoration. Such marble plaques were placed in several railway stations across Hungary where Jews were deported from during the Holocaust.
• A heart-warming initiative of our local Safed volunteers has led to a fund raising event that took place at the cafeteria of the municipal Yigal Alon Theater. All income from the delicious home-made cakes prepared and sold by the volunteers was donated to the Museum. The funds will all be used towards transferring the Museum's video collection onto a DVD format.
• Among a variety of groups recently visiting the Museum, there was a remarkable group of multi-discipline students from the “Shazar Institute”, who prior to their upcoming research trip to Hungary participated in a preparatory workshop offered by our experts.
• We are pleased to report on a new ‘trend’ adopted by quite a few families who have chosen us as the site to celebrate a variety of family events. Accompanied by members of the extended family, people have been favoring us for the celebration of special dates, anniversaries and birthdays of their dear ones. Families are welcomed to contact us and book in advance a preferred date for their special occasions. Also offered is an assortment of activities for younger children, while the grownups are busy touring the Museum.
• A new collaboration project is underway with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. The project calls for mutual sharing of archival material between the two institutions.
• We have recently been honored by the visit of the newly appointed Cultural Attaché at the Hungarian Embassy in Tel-Aviv, Ms. Lányi Eszter. Ms. Lányi was accompanied by Mr. László Jakab Orsos of the Hungarian Cultural Center in New York.
  
  In the photo: Ms. Lányi Eszter and Mr. László Jakab Orsos, accompanied by Hava Lustig.

A Salute to our Founders

Upon the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Museum's Association, a special acknowledgement project has been launched for the purpose of honoring our founding members. Members were requested to submit their curriculum vitae along with a photograph that would be presented in our computerized information center: ‘Touch, learn & Remember’.

A Token of Appreciation from the Jewish Community of Szeged

The Szeged Jewish Community has decorated the Museum and its founder, Mr. Yosef Lustig with an honorary medal, an award of tribute in honor of the late Rabbi Immanuel Lõw. Dr. Judit Molnár, the Szeged native historic researcher, arrived last July to present the award and was warmly welcomed by the Lustig family, the Museum's staff and its volunteers. During the humble and touching reception, Dr. Molnár spoke about the history of the flourishing Szeged congregation and thanked the Museum for commemorating the community’s pre-holocaust history (our archive includes more than 500 items related to this congregation). Dr. Kinga Frojimovics translated her words into Hebrew.

As seen in the above photograph, the medal depicts the renowned Rabbi Immanuel Lõw’s image on one side, while on the other side there is an illustration of the exquisite Szeged Synagogue.

What's New?

As usual, we hereby present some information concerning few donated artifacts:

• Three of the works recently donated by the sculptor Dr. Martin Kieselstein are on display in the “Shoah Room.” In the photo: his work “Farewell to the Beloved Dog”.
• Our friend Mr. Károly Kengyel of Germany has been forwarding us important data related to the Holocaust from a variety of sources.
• Professor Haim Ganizi has contributed an assortment of items from the collection of Rabbi Duschinsky’s family of Rákospalota. The artifacts were all cataloged in a special dossier at the Museum’s “Family Files”.
  In the photo: Letter of Appointment of the Rabbi.
• High school Math and Physics books dated from 1938 from the city of Székesfehérvár were donated by Mrs. Shoshana Perl. The books were all typed on a domestic typewriter and include written comments by the donor's mother, the student Takács Klára.
• Two photo boxes, one made of wood and the other made of hammered out metal, were contributed by Mrs. Judith Magides. The boxes were crafted by Sáfár László during his imprisonment by the Russians following WWII.
• Among the books recently donated to our museum we should highlight the book that tells the life story of our long-time friend Mr. Yehuda Moshkowitz who since 1967 has led the Sheerit Hapleita organization in Argentine and has been one of the most outspoken fighters against the rise of Neo-Nazism; A book by Tóth Tamás about distinguished personalities buried at the central Jewish cemetery in Budapest; Books by Dr. S. Nagy Katalin depicting Jewish art in Hungary during the recent decades; An album recently published by Yad Vashem titled: We are Here – Holocaust Survivors in Israel, co-written by our chairperson, Professor Hanna Yablonka.
• A new family dossier donated by Mr. Moty Dagan: documents and photos from the Kornfeld-Schlesinger family, whose members immigrated to Israel during the 1930's and kept in touch with their relatives in Hungary.
  In the photo: New Year card from Eretz Yisrael. 1935.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude for the support of the following:

• The Claims Conference
• The Leslie & Vera Keller Fund for the Nurturing of Jewish Heritage
• The Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport
• The Eliezer Landau Fund

Our heartfelt thanks to:

• The volunteers of the Museum in Israel for their invaluable work.
• Our volunteers abroad:
  
  Mrs. Edith Preston of Australia
  The Koltai family of Los Angeles
  Mrs. Suzanne Nash and Mrs. Evi Blaikie of New York
  The board members of our Association in Hungary

Making a Donation for the Museum

Our friends in the U.S.A. may contribute a tax-deductible donation for the Museum through the P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds Inc. If you wish to donate this way, please make a check payable to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds Inc. and send it to their New York office along with the form.

We greatly appreciate your ongoing support!