Irv Miller Endowment Fund Winners Announced

In the spring of 2008, thousands of Jewish teens from around the globe will gather in Poland and Israel as participants in the "March of the Living." On May 1, the teens will march three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau, to commemorate Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. From there, they will fly to Israel in time to celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's 60th Independence Day, on May 8.

To help defray costs, the JCC established the Irv Miller Endowment Fund at the Columbus Jewish Foundation to award $1,000 each to two teens to subsidize their participation on the trip. Those interested in applying for the award were asked to write a one-page essay on why they wanted to participate and what changes they anticipated taking place in their lives as a result of their participation.

"In total, there were 13 very well-written and impassioned essays submitted. The selection process was a difficult one; however, our three-person panel chose two from among the best. We are pleased to announce that this year's $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to Golda 'Mimi' Wilhelm of Columbus and Jeremy Schwarz of Gahanna," said Tim Kauffman, JCC Assistant Executive director.

"Irv Miller – a Holocaust survivor – was a wonderful friend of the JCC, whose courage and love of life inspired us all. If he were alive today, he would be very proud of each and every one of these students for their desire and commitment to understand the atrocities of which the human race is capable, especially in a situation so inherent to the Jewish people," he said.

Both Wilhelm and Schwarz are Juniors at Columbus Torah Academy and have been involved in the JCC the majority of their young lives.

"Here is an opportunity I may never again have, the opportunity of experiencing a taste of the life of my ancestors that I never knew," said Wilhelm in her essay, mentioning her great-aunts and uncles who perished at Auschwitz. "I must escape back into the world of Europe 60 years ago, to truly know the feeling of holding on to one's identity with one's life, and to the world of Israel today, where people's identities are threatened in restaurants and on the streets by suicide bombers every day. I want and need to join the ranks of comprehension that stare me so blatantly in the face."

In his essay, Schwarz recalled the stories about the Holocaust told to him by his grandfather. "My Zaidy, my grandfather, weighed 60 pounds and was 17 years old when he was liberated by the American soldiers in 1945," he wrote. "If it had not been for my Zaidy's will to survive, many of my family members and I would not exist today.

"When my Zaidy used to tell me the stories of when he was in Auschwitz in the concentration camp, [they] used to put me in awe," wrote Schwarz, who added that he tried to imagine himself in his grandfather's position. "It was a terrifying thought and I knew that one day, I would have the chance to walk down the same roads that he did and visit the place where he spent the few years of his teenage life and witnessed thousands of murders every day. It would be the greatest honor to be able to participate in the March of the Living."

"Twenty-eight Jewish Teens from Central Ohio will join the 5,000 plus participants in the annual March of the Living," said Nancy Rosen, Israel Experience coordinator at The Columbus Jewish Federation. "They are also expected to be in Israel for its 60th Independence Day on May 8, making this the second largest group in the history of the 20-year-old March of the Living program.

"This once in a lifetime experience was made possible for these 28 central Ohio teenagers with assistance from the Columbus Jewish Federation. This educational journey is an opportunity where the students can actively view history, to bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust and celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel," she said.

Rosen noted that according to Dr. Shmuel Rosenman, chairman of March of the Living International, the participants who arrive in Israel will be scattered throughout the country to participate in local Remembrance Day ceremonies with Israelis, and will gather together in Jerusalem for Independence Day activities the next day, before a final event at Latrun on the night of May 8.

For information on participating as part of the Columbus delegation on the march, contact Rosen at the Columbus Jewish Federation at (614) 559-3250.