A Time for Heroes

 

During these days of Hanukkah our thoughts turn to ancient heroes- the Maccabees. They fought to preserve Judaism and, against all odds, overcame an enemy with much greater numbers. They defied history and came out victorious. I can’t help but think of another set of heroes- survivors of the Holocaust who fought just to survive. I am humbled when I meet them. Their stories of individual survival and their stories of personal loss and tragedy should make each of us realize that every one of them is a hero. If Hanukkah is the time to speak of- re-dedication, I can think of no better time for each of us to pause and rededicate ourselves to honoring both the memory of the six million and the lives of those who survived.

In the past few months I have been fortunate enough to produce the pilot for a new series called Reliving the Holocaust Through Their Eyes. It has been an honor to get to meet so many survivors in the course of producing this first episode. It has also been an experience that confirms to me the importance of telling their stories. Working with Executive Producer Bob Pianka and Jewish Life Television (JLTV. I think that viewer response to the show has demonstrated that there are many stories of the Shoah that still have to be told, many heroes that still have to be recognized, and many aspects of survivors’ lives that still need to be made a part of the public record.

In South Florida we live with the third largest survivor community in the world. We need to tell their stories to the world. That is why I am so passionate about the work we do by producing Reliving the Holocaust Through Their Eyes. I ask you to please join me in hearing their stories. The pilot episode of Reliving the Holocaust Through Their Eyes will re-air during the next few days. Please tune in and show that these heroes will never be forgotten nor will their voices ever be silenced.

Many of you are already familiar with Jewish Life TV. It is the largest Jewish network in the world. JLTV is in over 40 million homes in America and Canada and over 80 million homes in Europe. JLTV can be seen throughout South Florida on Comcast channel 239 and DirecTV 366 and Atlantic Broadband 167. Dish and Xfinity will soon have JLTV as well.  I hope you will watch Reliving the Holocaust Through Their Eyes. Tune in JLTV on the following dates and times to see our pilot : December 17^th at 3:00pm, December 18^th and 8:00 and 11pm, December 19^th at 5:00pm, or December 20^th at 4:00pm.

I wish all my readers the very best for the remaining days of Hannukah and ask that you make these festive days of lights a time to celebrate the heroes of our people.