Chapter holds Int'l Holocaust Observance with City of Houston

Diplomats, representing countries from across the globe, participated with more than 100 members of the Houston community in a Jan. 27 Holocaust Victim Observance that featured Mayor Bill White, US Holocaust Memorial Council Chair Fred Zeidman, Emery/Weiner Choir and St. John's Choir.  A special recognition was made to the late El Salvadoran diplomat Consul General Jose Arturo Castellanos. Chapter President Tracy Stein and Argentine Consul General Ricardo Gauthier told part of his story.

More than 25,000 Jews during the Holocaust were saved thanks to citizenship certificates provided by Salvadoran diplomat Castellanos. This is the story of how one of the world's tiniest countries facilitated one of the most successful operations of World War II.
In 1938, Consul General Castellanos was assigned to Hamburg to open the consulate of El Salvador. He was then sent to Switzerland.  In 1942, as Europe was under the Nazi siege, a wealthy Romanian Jew named George Mandel, who had befriended Castellanos, asked for his help. Castellanos appointed him First Secretary of El Salvador's Consulate in Geneva. The Consul General created a system of providing El Salvadoran citizenship certificates.

Iris Mushin and Helene Zadok, co-chaired the program and spoke during the program.  Mushin outlined how the UN created the day of observance and Zadok reflected on why one must remember and why one must not forget. Pictured top to bottom are:  St. John's choir; Emery/Weiner choir; Fred Zeidman, and El Salvadoran Vice Consul Xochitl Menjivar.

 

A four person Chapter delegation met earlier this week with Daniel Cardinal DiNardo to discuss recent issues at the Vatican.  Tracy Stein, Nat Levy, Barbara Shepard and Randy Czarlinsky discussed remarks by a Cardinal in Rome on the Gaza conflict that Israel created "concentration camps" and the Vatican's decision to lift the excommunication ban on four bishops with the Society of St. Pius X.  One of the four bishops, Bishop Williamson of England, is a long time Holocaust denier.  Cardinal DiNardo explained that the Society is no longer excommunicated, but is still suspended and not in full communion with the Church. He also expressed concern on the growth of anti-Semitism across the European continent.  AJC's Rabbi David Rosen called the Vatican's recent action "shameful." Read statement
 

Nearly 20 participants from the Chapter's Mexican-American Emerging Leaders Workshop attended a breakfast at the AJC office with Mexican Consul General Carlos Gonzalez Magallon and Consul Julian Escutia.  The breakfast, sponsored by Amegy Bank, brought the group together and plans call to meet quarterly.

 

 

 Anti-Semitism grows across Europe

Jack Lascar, Dena Palermo, Helene Zadok and staff visited with Consul General Pierre Grandjouan to discuss anti-Semitism and France's push within the EU to modify the three conditions set by the Quartet for any Palestinian government to attain legitimacy and international cooperation. Those conditions are: recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce terrorism and accept existing agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. While the Hamas has persistently refused to accept these conditions, the French government is reportedly attempting to modify them, to enable Hamas to attain legitimacy and international cooperation. The delegation also discussed recent anti-Semitic incidents in France.