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"The Prophet Isaiah did not issue his call for tolerance and righteousness from![]() Portugal, nor did Jeremiah utter his lament from France, nor did Ezekial speak his vision of a Messianic Age from Spain. King Solomon’s magnificent temple was not built in England, the Mishna and the Jerusalem Talmud were not compiled in Germany, rather it all took place in the Land of Israel, the land of our forefather’s, the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the promised land that G-d told Moses to lead his people toward.”
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—Rabbi Marvin Hier, March 2012, announcing an exhibition under the joint auspices of UNESCO and the SWC on the occasion of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova’s visit to the Museum of Tolerance.
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Dear michael,
As Passover approaches this week, I’m taking the opportunity to announce a very timely project of critical importance that only the Simon Wiesenthal Center could make possible.
After much negotiation, the Center and UNESCO will be co-sponsoring a new joint exhibition, "The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel".
You may ask why, at this time, are we partnering with UNESCO on such an project?
Because, as I told the Director-General, there has never been a greater need for![]() such an exhibit to counteract the malicious lies being spread, particuliarly in the Arab world, that alleges that only because of the Nazi Holocaust, a Jewish homeland was forcibly created on their land. This canard denies Jews their heritage and makes a mockery of the bible, a text held sacred by billions of people.
As Winston Churchill told a group of Arab leaders in 1921, “It is manifestly right that the Jews, who are scattered all over the world, should have a national center and a national home, where some of them may be reunited. And where else could that be but in this land of Palestine, with which for more than three thousand years they have been intimately and profoundly associated?”
Remember, this exhibit will not be shown in a synaogue or Jewish community center, but rather at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the United Nations where this historic truth is too often buried under an avalanche of lies.
We have already received one generous grant to underwrite some of the large costs of such a comprehensive exhibit. This Passover, we are asking you partner with us to match this grant so that this new traveling exhibit can be seen by thousands of people, and hundreds of diplomats, first at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, then at UN headquarters in New York, and later at the US Congress and major cities the world over.
We have just secured The Right Honorable Sir Martin Gilbert, renowned historian and expert on the history of Israel and the official biographer of Sir Winston Churchill, to author the narrative of the exhibit.
As an NGO at the UN and UNESCO, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and UNESCO have co-sponsored events on anti-Semitism at critical times for European Jewry. But at this time in our history, the impact of this crucial initiative will be felt globally.
While you are celebrating the festival of freedom with your family, take a moment to partner with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, on the frontlines 365 days a year, defending Israel and the Jewish people everywhere.
Let’s take make this exhibit a reality and take it to the place where its message must be heard the most - become a partner with us today - your support is vital.
Wishing you and your family a happy Passover,
Rabbi Marvin Hier
Dean and Founder |
